Section 173. Petition for acquisition

Whenever the town superintendent of
  highways of any township shall determine that public necessity  requires
  the  laying  out  of  a new or additional highway, and the land therefor
  cannot be obtained by the dedication of the  owners  thereof,  or  if  a
  highway  proposed  to  be constructed or improved shall deviate from the
  line of the highway already existing and the town  board  be  unable  to
  acquire  land by purchase for such requisite right of way as provided by
  section one hundred and seventy-one of this chapter, he may apply to the
  town board of his town for  permission  to  institute  a  proceeding  to
  acquire  so  much  land  as  may  be  necessary  to  lay out such new or
  additional highway, and when such consent shall have been given  by  the
  town  board  of  such town, the said town superintendent of highways may
  make application pursuant to the eminent domain procedure law to supreme
  court in the  judicial  district  in  which  such  proposed  highway  is
  situated,  to  obtain an order for permission to file an acquisition map
  of the property to be acquired.