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John Hollenhorst Reporting...Tomorrow, an obscure government body will begin wrestling with the issue of the so-called "Devil's Highway." The roads starts in Southeastern Utah and some say is leads ... well.... it leads into trouble.
It was paved with good intentions. But some say it's the Road to Hell.
The Devil's Number, the Number of the Beast, according to the Book of Revelations.
Sgt. Rick Eldredge/Utah Highway Patrol: "FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER IT'S BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE DEVILS HIGHWAY."
If there was a song, it might go "The Devil gets his kicks on Route Six-Sixty-Six."
And when cops pull someone over for speeding, they don't get the usual song and dance.
Sgt. Rick Eldredge/Utah Highway Patrol: "A LOT OF THE PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW, 'THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT'."
The highway runs from Monticello, Utah, through a corner of Colorado, and 100 miles into New Mexico. Some say the highway is cursed ... or something, what with hellacious fatal accident rates in New Mexico. And in Utah, well... hmmmmm.
SGT. RICK ELDREDGE/UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL: "YOU KNOW, THE ONLY TWO DEAD BODIES WE'VE FOUND IN THIS COUNTY ALONG HIGHWAYS HAVE BEEN ALONG STATE ROAD 6-6-6."
This weekend, a government committee is expected to cast the evil number into outer darkness, replacing it with something benign. Like, say, 393.
It's about time. People are tired of replacing signs.
SGT. RICK ELDREDGE/UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL: "YOU KNOW, HIGHWAY SIGN 6-6-6. YOU JUST CAN'T KEEP THEM OUT THERE. PEOPLE STEAL THEM. "
JOHN HOLLENHORST, Eyewitness News: "UTAH OFFICIALS ARE SUPPORTING THE NUMBER CHANGE, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE TOO BIG A DEAL HERE. BUT IN NEW MEXICO, POLITICIANS SEEM UNUSUALLY WORRIED ABOUT THE DEVIL."
In his state of the state address, New Mexico's Governor pledged to stamp out the evil number and re-pave the Road to Hell. Lawmakers quickly signed on to the crusade.
Now, with the number change almost certain, it appears the final triumph over evil is at hand . As long as they keep the potholes fixed.