Whenever an authority, or any municipality or county which has acquired by purchase or condemnation real property for any project or for the widening of existing roads, streets, parkways, avenues or highways or for new roads, streets, parkways, avenues or highways to any project or partly for such purposes and partly for other municipal or county purposes, shall determine that it is necessary that any tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles and other equipment and appliances (herein called "public utility facilities") of any public utility as defined in section 27:7-1 of the Revised Statutes in, on, along, over or under any project or any real property acquired as aforesaid, should be relocated in, or removed from, such project or real property acquired as aforesaid, the public utility owning or operating such public utility facilities shall relocate or remove the same in accordance with the order of such authority, municipality or county; provided, however, that the cost and expenses of such relocation or removal, including the cost of installing such public utility facilities in a new location, or new locations, and the cost of any lands, or any rights or interest in lands, or any other rights acquired to accomplish such relocation or removal, less the cost of any lands or any rights or interest in lands or any other rights of the public utility paid to the public utility in connection with the relocation or removal of such property, shall be ascertained and paid by the authority, municipality or county making such order. In case of any such relocation or removal of public utility facilities as aforesaid, the public utility owning or operating the same, its successors or assigns, may maintain and operate such facilities, with the necessary appurtenances, in the new location or new locations, for as long a period, and upon the same terms and conditions, as it had the right to maintain and operate such public utility facilities in their former location or locations.
N.J.S. § 40:11A-7.1