What do these signs mean?

June 25, 2008 1:58 PM

I live in western North Carolina. Recently I noticed a couple of signs along my road and am curios as to what they mean. The signs are bright blue rectangles with white letters at the top reading "WP". There are white numbers below the letters.
posted by haikuku to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

It could be referring to a numbered waypoint along some kind of route or path that's listed in a guidebook or similar.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:21 PM on June 25, 2008

I'm close to you (East TN) and haven't seen any of these. Are they high up & big like speed limit and caution signs, or are they lower and smaller like mile markers?
posted by workerant at 3:22 PM on June 25, 2008

They almost sound like pipeline or utility markers. These companies often post signs along the way to mark their underground assets. How big are these signs you're seeing? Or what workerant said.
posted by katillathehun at 3:25 PM on June 25, 2008

They are as tall as regular highway signs and the sign itself is about 3" across and 8" tall.
posted by haikuku at 3:55 PM on June 25, 2008

What county are you in?
posted by meta_eli at 4:03 PM on June 25, 2008

Are the signs near a lake or river? WP could be "wetted perimeter"
posted by meta_eli at 4:15 PM on June 25, 2008

Maybe you could ask this guy. Photographing highway signs seems to be a hobby of his. Maybe he's seen these and can identify them.
posted by katillathehun at 4:23 PM on June 25, 2008

I think I saw some of these in western South Carolina, too. It might be a Water Point (or something similar) to which fire departments can attach hoses.
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 5:02 PM on June 25, 2008

The signs do tend to be near waterways....a pond or river that is near the roadside. If it is for a "wetted perimeter", what would the numbers underneath the "WP" represent?
posted by haikuku at 5:13 AM on June 26, 2008

Got me, maybe they match ID numbers on a map. These guys would know
posted by meta_eli at 5:45 AM on June 26, 2008