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SAN DIEGO -- At some point early Thursday morning, someone hacked a portable electronic road sign and posted an anti-Donald Trump message followed by the letters "KKK."

Caltrans says the sign near a freeway on-ramp was turned off an hour after someone called to report the slur on the Republican nominee.

The message board is part of a construction project at Adams Avenue and Interstate 15.

It appears crews were careless and left the control panel unlocked.

While FOX 5 was there Thursday night, nothing had been done to secure it. The user guide was inside with the password clearly marked. Instructions pointed the way for anyone to post any message.

"I'm thinking like wow, it's a joke," said resident Vincent Ramirez, who saw the message on his way to work.

Caltrans issued the following statement about the incident:

"Caltrans was alerted at about 6 a.m. today that a contractor’s portable electronic sign located at the Adams Avenue on-ramp to State Route 15 had been hacked with an obscene political message. The message was turned off within the hour. Most signs of this type are physically locked and protected by a password. People who break into electronic signs endanger public safety by distracting motorists and interfering with important messaging," wrote Caltrans Public Information Officer Cathryne Bruce-Johnson.