Delaware River & Bay Authority

Delaware River & Bay Authority, a bi-state interstate government entity headquartered in New Castle, Delaware, operates as a federal grant recipient funding airport and ferry infrastructure improvement and maintenance projects across Delaware and New Jersey. The authority does not hold federal contracts and has no presence as a subcontractor; all 205 recent federal awards are prime grants.

The Federal Aviation Administration Eastern Region dominates the grant portfolio, funding 75 of the 129 awards explicitly routed to FAA (76% of the award count by volume). The authority serves 14 distinct federal customer agencies, but concentration is extreme: the FAA accounts for the overwhelming majority of recent activity. Within the FAA footprint, the grants support phased design, construction, and rehabilitation of runway, taxiway, apron, and terminal infrastructure at four primary airports — Dover and Wilmington in Delaware, and Millville and Wildwood (Rio Grande facility) in New Jersey — under the Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) and its related supplemental funding streams (COVID-19 Airports Programs, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs). Representative FAA awards include a $3.6 million project grant on September 13, 2024, to expand Taxiway B at Wilmington by 825 feet, a $2.1 million project grant on July 29, 2025, to construct a new 12,000 square-foot sponsor-owned aircraft storage hangar at Wildwood, and a $6.6 million project grant on August 19, 2024, to expand the Wilmington terminal by 6,000 square feet with hold room expansion and bathroom upgrades.

Non-FAA funding is sparse. The Federal Transit Administration awarded two substantial project grants: a $74.4 million award on September 4, 2025, under the Passenger Ferry Grant Program and Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program (CFDA 20.532) to purchase a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry vessel for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, and an earlier $2.8 million set from Federal Transit grants supporting ferry operations maintenance and recovery. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $540 thousand project grant on December 1, 2024, under the Clean Ports Program (CFDA 66.051) to conduct emissions inventory, emissions-reduction strategy analysis, and climate resiliency planning for ferry operations. The Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration, Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, and other agencies appear in the award ledger at sub-million scale for facility rental and support services under GSA schedules.

Activity volume has been steady with light recent growth: five awards in 2022, six in 2023, nine in 2024, and seven in 2025, with only two awards appearing in 2026 year-to-date. The authority operates under a single material parent vehicle, GSA Basic Ordering Agreement GS03B07342, which carries 46 task orders with $1.7 million combined potential value, predominantly supporting facility lease and rental of nonresidential buildings across federal agencies. Combined potential value across all 205 awards stands at $4.7 million, but combined obligated dollars total $288.6 million — a signal that many grants have matured to full obligation or have been closed with final expenditures. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete exposure.