Onslow County has received $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund an infrastructure resiliency study in partnership with the City of Jacksonville and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
The Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation awarded the $1,629,621 grant to help communities evaluate and strengthen infrastructure near military installations.
At its most recent meeting, the Onslow County Board of Commissioners approved a $1.3 million contract with engineering firm Tetra Tech to conduct the study.
The study will assess key infrastructure systems supporting residents, businesses, and military operations. Areas of focus include water, wastewater, energy, and transportation networks, with specific attention to water and wastewater connections between the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority and Camp Lejeune, and electrical links between Duke Progress Energy and Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation.
Transportation routes to the ports of Morehead City and Wilmington will also be reviewed.
Officials said the goal is to understand how these systems interact and to identify priorities for protection or upgrades to support emergency response and future growth.
A planning group with representatives from Onslow County, Jacksonville, and Camp Lejeune will oversee the project and review its findings.
Completion is expected by January 2027. Officials said study results may help secure further state and federal funding for infrastructure improvements.
