The board of rapid transit commissioners may acquire by purchase or appropriate, enter upon, and hold any real estate or easement, partial or otherwise, therein, thereon, thereunder, or thereover, or any interest therein, both within and without the limits of the city, which it deems necessary for the purposes specified in section 747.08 of the Revised Code, and in the manner provided by sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

The board may cross and occupy streets and highways in the manner provided by law for street, suburban, or interurban electric railways, and may receive grants from city, township, or county officers of the right to use or occupy streets and other public highways which such officers may give the board.

The board may order the removal of pipes, sewers, conduits, poles, and other structures that are in the way of construction authorized by sections 747.01 to 747.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and may temporarily suspend streetcar traffic. The cost of changing sewers and water pipes shall be included as part of the cost of construction, and the board may enter upon lands or buildings for examination and surveys prior to appropriation proceedings therefor.