It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Mississippi that it is necessary and essential in the public interest to facilitate the prompt, peaceful, and just settlement of conflicts and disputes arising out of contracts for the construction of any building, highway or work, or the doing of any repairs, between the Mississippi Transportation Department and the various contractors with whom it transacts business, and to that end the Legislature does hereby establish the State Transportation Arbitration Board, hereinafter referred to as the board.