The agency, consistent with the directives of the general assembly, may designate the highways to be improved, constructed or reconstructed under the provisions of this chapter. Subject to the limitations of the Federal Aid Road Act, and the rules and regulations of the Federal Highway Administration, the agency may contract in the name of the state for the construction or reconstruction of any highway or bridge under this chapter and the location of the work, the kind of construction, and whether it shall be by force account or by contract. (Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 43.)