Department of Transportation

The Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level civilian agency, administers federal contracts and grants across highway construction, aviation infrastructure, transit systems, safety research, and transportation policy implementation, operating through sub-agencies including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

The Department has awarded 220,046 federal contracts since 1978, with combined potential value of $635.86 billion and $151.75 billion obligated to date. Contract activity has declined in recent years: 7,278 awards in 2023, 7,289 in 2024, 5,808 in 2025, 5,183 in 2026, and 4 awards recorded through April 2027. The competitive landscape is fragmented—CDW Government LLC leads by award count with 1,881 awards and $938.1 million potential value over the last five years, followed by Iron Bow Technologies, LLC (1,416 awards, $207.2 million) and Microtechnologies LLC (739 awards, $158.9 million). By potential value, Raytheon Company ranks second (139 awards, $642.1 million) despite far fewer transactions, reflecting large-scale defense and aerospace work. The top five prime contractors hold only 16 percent of recent awards, indicating a highly fragmented supplier base across 27,633 distinct awardees. Eighty-six percent of awards carry no set-aside designation; small-business set-asides (8(a), emerging small business, competitive 8(a)) account for approximately 4 percent of awards combined, with service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone, and women-owned small business each representing less than 1 percent.

The Department has awarded 1,699,065 federal grants since 1984, obligating $1,917.54 billion in federal dollars across all recipients (total dollars including non-federal cost share: $2,673.9 billion). Grant volume has declined: 54,131 awards in 2023, 50,265 in 2024, 43,939 in 2025, 15,390 in 2026, and 3 awards recorded through September 2027. Grant funding is highly concentrated among state departments of transportation—Texas Department of Transportation leads by federal dollars ($40.6 billion across 8,149 awards), followed by California DOT ($35.29 billion, 7,349 awards) and Florida DOT ($24.06 billion, 8,816 awards). The top five recipients hold 21 percent of recent award count but only 7 percent of federal dollars, reflecting that while state DOTs receive numerous awards, funding is dispersed across many smaller recipients and programs. Formula Grants dominate the assistance mix at 89 percent of awards, with Project Grants at 11 percent and Cooperative Agreements at less than 1 percent.

Recent contract opportunities span multiple sub-agencies and solicitation types. The FHWA Central Federal Lands Highway Division issued an IDIQ for architect-engineer design services across 14 Western states with $60 million shared capacity and a November 20, 2026 due date. The FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center posted a total small-business set-aside for industrial wastewater treatment plant upgrades ($10 million to $20 million estimated range, November 19, 2026 deadline, mandatory pre-proposal conference November 2, 2026). NHTSA posted sources-sought notices for full-scale vehicle crashworthiness testing and side air bag out-of-position testing for the New Car Assessment Program (due November 2, 2026) and an Advanced Safety Research IDIQ for vehicle electronics and automated driving systems research (due December 30, 2026). ITS JPO issued a Broad Agency Announcement for up to five operational pilots replicating ITS4US deployment solutions (due January 11, 2027). Pre-solicitations and sources-sought notices target road and bridge rehabilitation projects across Federal Lands Highway projects in Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, and Idaho, many with small-business set-asides and November–December 2026 due dates.

Recent grant opportunities emphasize state transportation agencies, wildlife infrastructure, and safety innovation. The Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program offers approximately $80 million in FY 2026 funding with a November 16, 2026 deadline for construction and non-construction projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions; eligible applicants include state DOTs, MPOs, local governments, tribes, and federal land management agencies, with a 20 percent non-federal cost-share requirement. The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Competitive Grant Program awards up to $787 million across FYs 2024–2026 for surface transportation resilience projects (due October 9, 2026). The FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program makes $100 million available for FY 2027 to eligible airports for air traffic control tower projects (due October 19, 2026). The Federal Transit Administration's Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program offers up to $10 million in competitive awards for up to two projects developing innovative bus safety and accessibility concepts (due September 28, 2026). Small Business Transportation Technical Assistance Center cooperative agreements across six regional USDBU cohorts, each covering a base year plus two option years, accept applications through October 31, 2026 for Region 1, Region 3, and later cohorts; eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public institutions, and state governments.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for planning and coordinating federal transportation projects. It also sets safety regulations for all major modes of transportation.