(1) Every person who seeks to procure, bid upon, or offer to bid upon any contract with the department for the construction or maintenance of any public road or any section thereof, before procuring a proposal form or submitting any bid to obtain such contract, shall procure a certificate of eligibility from the department to bid on such work.
(2) All applications for a certificate of eligibility shall be made to the department in writing, and the department shall act upon the application within thirty (30) days after the application is filed.
(3) A certificate of eligibility is not necessary where the department purchases equipment, material and supplies directly, except in the case of the purchase of crushed stone in lots of more than one thousand (1,000) tons, or bituminous materials in tank car lots.