issued the following announcement on Oct. 2.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced the award of $650,000 to Carteret County to partially fund the Radio Island Shoreline & Infrastructure Protection Project. This was one of only 13 projects awarded in the National Defense Community Infrastructure Program funding opportunity. The project supports Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, and includes the restoration of a beach and dune system to mitigate erosion problems. The Joint Expeditionary Base, Little Creek-Fort Story, also referred to as the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. The Radio Island facility is used as an amphibious embarkation and debarkation area for United States Marine Corps units at Camp Lejeune.
The DoD award will fund shoreline restoration and infrastructure protection measures on Radio Island, located within the Beaufort Inlet complex, by reusing 35,360 cubic yards of material dredged from East Taylor’s Creek for placement on approximately 2,775 linear feet of estuarine shoreline along the southeast side of Radio Island. Once complete, the restoration of the eastern shoreline’s beach and dune system will greatly enhance the coastal resilience of Marine Road, improve public access, and maintain the recreational beach uses. The southeast shoreline at Radio Island has experienced significant beach erosion due to frequent storm events, creating an enhanced risk to infrastructure and mission readiness.
“Carteret County is incredibly grateful to the Department of Defense for investing in this infrastructure project to strengthen the resilience along the Radio Island shoreline,” Ed Wheatly, Carteret County chairman, said. “The combined benefit of both the County and Little Creek Base’s efforts would mitigate the erosion problem, improve reliability, and provide protective measures to critical infrastructure in Carteret County.”
This award builds on an additional grant received earlier this year to fund construction of the project. The North Carolina Shallow Draft Navigation Channel Dredging and Aquatic Weed Fund Grant awarded $1.3 million to support the project. The total cost of the project cost is $1.95 million and will be completed sometime in April 2022.
“Projects such as this are an essential step in helping to guard infrastructure against further damage and supporting public access to the beach on the north end,” said Gene Foxworth, Assistant County Manager of Carteret County. “We are grateful to the Department of Defense for their assistance with helping this valuable project move forward.”
DCIP is designed to address deficiencies in community infrastructure to support military installation, with the goal of enhancing military value, installation resilience, and military family quality of life. To learn more about DoD DCIP grants, visit https://oldcc.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip
Follow the Carteret County Government Facebook page for project highlights, program updates and more. For more information about Shore Protection Management efforts in Carteret County, visit CarteretCountyNC.gov.
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