Section 7E. The department may sell at public or private sale any land, or rights in land, the title to which has been acquired by the department for highway purposes, upon determination by the board of commissioners of said department that such land or rights in land are no longer necessary for state highway purposes. In the event of such public or private sale the department shall execute a deed thereof, with or without covenants of title and warranty, in the name and behalf of the commonwealth, to the purchaser, his heirs and assigns, and deposit said deed with the state treasurer, together with a certificate of the terms of the sale and the price paid or agreed to be paid at said sale. Upon receipt of said price, and upon the terms agreed to in said deed, the treasurer shall deliver the deed to said purchaser. The state treasurer may, by the attorney general, sue for and collect the price and otherwise enforce the terms of any such sale.

The department may, with the approval of the governor, transfer to another department, or to a city, town, or public authority or agency, any land the title to which has been acquired by it and which said board of commissioners determines is no longer necessary for state highway purposes.

The department may also, with the approval of the governor, lease or rent any land, or rights in land, the title to which has been acquired by it, and which land, or rights therein, said board of commissioners determines are not presently needed for state highway purposes.

The foregoing provisions of law with reference to the sale, leasing or renting of land acquired by the department, shall also apply to land, or rights in land, acquired by the department for maintenance sites; provided, however, that nothing contained in this section shall be construed as affecting in any way the powers, rights and duties set forth in section seven H.

In addition to the foregoing, the department may also transfer to another state department, land acquired from said state department for highway construction or reconstruction, which is no longer needed for said purposes. Said land shall be subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by the department for the use thereof.