Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation

The Department of Transportation Immediate Office of the Secretary Transportation is a civilian sub-agency within the Department of Transportation that funds and procures work across the Department's operating administrations, including the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Maritime Administration, and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

The Office operates a substantial contract portfolio spanning 18,208 awards since 1978, with combined potential value of $12.77 billion and $10.7 billion in obligated dollars. Over the last five years, contract awards have averaged 516 per year, with activity declining from 647 awards in 2024 to 383 in 2025 and 383 year-to-date in 2026. The competitive landscape is highly fragmented: the top five primes by award count hold 18 percent of recent awards, with Metgreen Solutions Inc. leading at 108 awards and $76.1 million combined potential value, followed by KIK Technologies LLC and Emcor Government Services, Inc. at 95 awards each. By potential value, the top five account for only 4 percent of combined value, indicating most awards are below-threshold or transacted through Schedule task orders and BPA calls with unreported dollar fields. The 3,792 distinct prime contractors awarded reflect a dispersed vendor base. Set-asides skew heavily toward open competition: 76 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while 17 percent are total small-business set-asides; 8(a) awards represent 5 percent of the portfolio, with the balance split among SDVOSB, HUBZone, and other designations.

The Office also administers a grant portfolio of 2,011 awards since 2000, obligating $9.75 billion in federal dollars (supporting $17.77 billion in total federal plus non-federal share). Grant activity has declined from 183 awards in 2024 to 133 in 2025 and 115 in 2026, with 1 award recorded so far in 2027. Grant recipients are moderately concentrated: state departments of transportation dominate the top tier by award count, with Washington State Department of Transportation, Minnesota DOT, Iowa DOT, and Mississippi DOT each holding 12–21 awards. By federal dollars obligated, Ohio DOT leads at $308.2 million across 10 awards, followed by Iowa DOT at $211.3 million; the top five recipients account for 11 percent of federal dollars. Grants are predominantly Project Grants (86 percent) with a smaller share of Cooperative Agreements (14 percent).

Recent contract opportunities from the Office and its Volpe Center include pre-solicitation RFIs posted in October 2026 for laboratory capabilities to test railroad tank-car thermal protection systems (due November 20) and supply of thermal protection systems for the same application (due November 20). A solicitation for test pit and soil borings in support of an EPA Targeted Brownfields Assessment at a site in Sykesville, Maryland was set aside for small business (due August 11). The Office issued a sole-source 8(a) solicitation to Sharma & Associates, Inc. for evaluation and standardization of rail equipment glazing systems (due September 28). Additional open or recently-posted solicitations target drilling and related services for a Delaware Phase II environmental site assessment (due August 31, amended), Army Locomotive Safety Inspections for the Army Sustainment Command (due August 27), and Advanced Acoustic Model development for sonic boom prediction at Vandenburg Space Force Base (sole-source with Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, LLC, due August 14).

Recent grant opportunities center on Small Business Transportation Technical Assistance Centers administered by the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Multiple regional SBTTACs are open or recently closed: Region 1, Region 3, and Region 4 cooperative-agreement opportunities posted in late September and early October 2026 with October 31 due dates; Region 2, Region 5, and Region 6 cooperative agreements closed August 30, 2026. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public and private higher-education institutions, state governments, and other nonprofits, depending on the region.