By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
EAST WINDSOR Is it perhaps the mile marker of the beast?
New Jersey Turnpike mile marker 66.6 sits in East Windsor, and over the past few years, it’s gone missing a number of times, according to Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando.
”I couldn’t begin to think why someone would waste their time taking the sign. I’m not eager to meet these people,” he said.
Mr. Orlando added that he doesn’t know exactly how many times the mile marker has disappeared, but it happens often enough to get special attention, not only on the Turnpike but also on the Garden State Parkway. In fact, it’s become a national trend with “666” signs being stolen in Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Utah, he said.
Of course, many Christians and horror films associate 666 with the prophesized coming of the Antichrist believed to herald the end of the world. In the King James Version of the biblical book of Revelation it’s translated as “the number of the beast.”
And indeed it can make a tempting target for pranksters, occultists, or even insidious Satanists themselves.
At a cost of about $50 to replace the sign each time it vanishes, the Turnpike Authority has come up with a plan it hopes will finally exorcise this demon, Mr. Orlando said.
The 66.6 mile markers will be replaced with signs that read “66.59.”
”That certainly makes it a lot less sexy for the Satan crowd,” he said.
The Authority has no specific date set for the sign change, but plans to replace it within the next few weeks, Mr. Orlando said.

