"USA" painted on street

[aaronrp]

I live in Oakland, California. Around town there are markings painted on the street. Some are pretty clear (e.g., “QWEST” near the telephone exchange downtown is probably marking underground communications lines) but I haven’t been able to figure out what “USA ->” might stand for.

Some wag painted “CAN” and “MEX” next to one, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean “United States of America.” (Or the “United Spirit Association.”)

Any ideas?

[Ol_Gaffer]

They are a firm that marks utilities before ground disturbing activities. They are ususally pretty accurate but not always :).

[Walloon]

Seattle-based Utility Services Associates (USA), a wholly owned subidiary of Hughes Supply Inc., specializes in waterline leak detection.

[MaryEFoo]

IIR it’s Uniform Service Agreement, shows there is some utility underground. There should also be a couple of 1-pronged arrows showing which way the cable or whatever is coming from/going to. The color code shows whether it is communications cable, water, electricity, gas, or what, below.

[Antonius_Block]

I’d always heard it was Underground Service Alert:

Underground Service Alert, or USA, is a national network that tracks all underground water pipes, gas lines, electrical conduits, television cables, etc

According to this site:

USA North provides a free Call Before You Dig service to all excavators (contractors, homeowners and others), in Central / Northern California, Nevada and Hawaii. The excavators one call to USA will automatically notify all USA Members who may have underground facilities at their work site. In response, the USA Members will mark or stake the horizontal path of their underground facilities, provide information about, or give clearance to dig.

[lesizz]

…or Underground Service Alert:

Underground Service Alert