The problem: Signs directing drivers from eastbound Interstate 695 to Interstate 95 in Rosedale are confusing.

The back story: Trips to White Marsh or other points north of Baltimore shouldn't cause panic.

But some drivers have been confused by the new traffic pattern from eastbound I-695 onto northbound I-95 in Rosedale. The new interchange is part of the express toll lanes project expected to be completed in late 2014.

The new interchanges eliminate left exits in favor of right-hand ramps, which are the safer, more modern standard. In that location, the left lane continues as the Beltway toward Essex, and the right lane takes traffic onto southbound I-95 to Baltimore.

The middle lane eventually splits, with drivers who stay left continuing on I-695 and those who go right ending up on I-95 north. But drivers don't seem to have enough warning about this choice, said reader Mary Chetelat.

She regularly travels from Parkville to Essex on the Beltway and often sees drivers cutting across the wide area between the two roadways after realizing too late that they failed to make it onto northbound I-95.

"Almost every time I go there, you see people swerving across that big, wide dead zone," Chetelat said. "It's a good thing it's there. ... They pull up in this area and they're wondering, 'Where am I going?' "

She and a friend were just as confused trying to get onto I-95 north during a trip.

She proposed a solution: an overhead sign before the split that indicates where each lane is headed.

Thankfully, the planners and engineers at the Maryland Transportation Authority are working on just such a sign.

"This seems like the one area where people have the most confusion, out of all the different ramps," said MdTA spokesman Teri A. Moss.

Project staff have received about 20 complaints about the traffic pattern and signs since the interchange opened in August, she said.

By December, new signs on the left side of the roadway directed motorists to keep left to stay on eastbound I-695.

Moss said a new overhead sign will be installed this summer to replace the sign now at the split. It will indicate the lane assignments for I-695 and I-95, Moss said.

Who can fix this: For questions about the I-95 express toll lanes project, call the project office at 410-931-0808 or 888-I95-ETLS. Project manager is David LaBella.