Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

The Department of Transportation's Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, a sub-agency within the federal transportation hierarchy, operates and maintains the U.S. portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lake Ontario and Montreal, Canada, including the Eisenhower and Snell navigation locks. The Corporation procures construction, maintenance, marine services, and equipment support to sustain safe passage of commercial vessels through the Seaway's regional navigational channels.

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation has closed 2,682 federal contract awards since 1978, with combined potential value of $255.5 million and combined obligated dollars of $270 million. Recent activity shows 69 awards in 2022, 78 in 2023, 66 in 2024, 39 in 2025, and 42 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent award closed on October 15, 2026. Among distinct prime contractors awarded over the portfolio history, 859 have transacted with the agency.

Contract competitive concentration is highly fragmented. Over the last five years, Bergmann Associates Architects Engineers Landscape Architects & Surveyors DPC leads by award count with ten awards totaling $1.3 million combined potential value, followed by DS Imports LLC with seven awards and $2 million combined potential value, and Lavacks Custom Builders, Inc. with six awards and $1.4 million combined potential value. By potential value, Patterson Stevens Inc. ranks first with four awards and $10.2 million, but the top five primes by award count and top five by potential value together account for only 11 percent and 6 percent of recent awards respectively, indicating a highly dispersed contractor base.

Set-asides dominate the procurement mix. No set-asides were used on 2,078 awards (77 percent of the portfolio), while small-business set-asides account for 540 awards (20 percent), very small business for 24 awards (1 percent), emerging small business for 19 awards (1 percent), and 8(a) sole-source awards for 7 awards (less than 1 percent). HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, woman-owned small business, and competitive 8(a) designations each appear on fewer than 5 awards.

Current contract opportunities reflect the Corporation's capital and maintenance-focused remit. The 2026–2027 Winter Shotcrete Repair at Eisenhower Lock (solicitation 6923G527Q0001, due November 4, 2026) is reserved as a Total Small Business set-aside under NAICS 238110 and uses commercial RFQ procedures. Construction of a New Administration Building and Maintenance Garage (solicitation 6923G526R0094, with multiple amendments through September 25, 2026, now closed) was solicited as a Total Small Business set-aside under NAICS 236220 and conducted using FAR Part 15 with a revised size standard of $45 million. Dry Docking and Special Periodical Survey for M/V "Seaway Guardian" (solicitation 6923G526Q0051, due October 2, 2026) is full and open competition under NAICS 336611 for shipyard marine maintenance and compliance surveys. Meteorological Weather Stations and Maintenance Support (pre-solicitation 6923G526SS0006, market research due August 24, 2026) signals an anticipated procurement for equipment procurement, delivery, installation, and multi-year technical support. Additional active opportunities include AtoN Buoy Chains (solicitation 6923G526Q0087, Small Business set-aside, due September 1, 2026), Maintenance Base Overhead Door Replacement (solicitation 6923G526Q0078, Small Business set-aside, due August 26, 2026), and Maintenance and Testing on Miter Gate Motor (solicitation 6923G526Q0071, Small Business set-aside, closed August 10, 2026). All procurement contact is through chora.snyder@dot.gov.

Working in concert with its Canadian counterpart, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation works to operate and maintain a safe, reliable, efficient waterway between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.