The Texas Department of Transportation isn't laughing at the ghoulish warning that appeared Wednesday on an Austin traffic sign.

Someone altered electronic signs intended to warn motorists of construction near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards to warn drivers to "run" from the "zombies ahead."

"The end is near!!!!!!!!!" the signs exclaimed. "Caution! Zombies ahead!!!"

"Run for cold climates," the signs instructed motorists.

The two signs are about a half mile west of the University of Texas campus. Austin Public Works spokeswoman Sara Hartley said the message was only displayed for a few hours.

While some people found it funny, TxDOT says the signs are there to display traffic information.

The department is now trying to figure out who hacked into its digital road sign system. Hartley said the hackers cut a padlock to get into the signs' computers.

She told KXAN-TV in Austin that the stunt is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine.