An off-duty Waxhaw Police officer is directing traffic at the intersection of Rehobeth Road and West South Main Street/NC-75 during morning and afternoon rush hours.
The officer-directed traffic began Tuesday, Sept. 1, according to a Town of Waxhaw press release. Drivers should expect an officer at the intersection Monday through Friday, from about 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m., plus during special events. The arrangement will stay in place until a permanent traffic signal is installed.
The move is the first visible result of the town's agreement with Pulte Homes over the Preserve at Forest Creek subdivision. With the officer in place, the town has cleared Pulte to begin receiving Certificates of Occupancy, allowing up to three finished homes per month at the Preserve to welcome new residents.
The intersection's traffic signal has been delayed for years. When the Board of Commissioners approved Forest Creek in 2020, a traffic light at Rehobeth Road and NC-75 was required before any Certificates of Occupancy could be issued, according to The Waxhaw Wall, a blog by Commissioner Richard Daunt. In 2024, a town employee overrode that requirement before leaving the job, allowing 25 Certificates of Occupancy to go out before the light existed, The Waxhaw Wall reported. Delays between Pulte and railroad authority CSX have stalled the signal project since.
Waxhaw Police Chief Dexter Wilson has called the spot dangerous. "That is a very bad intersection for wrecks," Wilson said in an Aug. 10 report by the Charlotte Weekly, when he addressed the Union County Board of Education about school traffic safety. "Most of those are left-turn wrecks and right-angle wrecks, meaning it's a T-bone-type wreck."
Under the agreement detailed by The Waxhaw Wall, Pulte must fund a $2 million bond for the intersection improvements, deliver monthly progress updates and advance a three-party agreement with CSX and the N.C. Department of Transportation. If progress stalls, the town can step in and complete the work using the bond.
Once the permanent signal is installed, the intersection will also get updated pavement markings and turn lanes to improve traffic flow across the rail crossing, the town said. The all-way stop at West North Main Street and Rehobeth Road will become a two-way stop.
Pulte faces a Dec. 1 deadline to submit executed agreements with NCDOT. If the developer meets that deadline, the monthly release of Certificates of Occupancy continues through August 2027. Should the intersection improvements finish ahead of schedule, the remaining certificates would be released without the monthly cap.
