As I drive to work up Route 32, I always notice two signs just before I enter Howard County.

One is a sign proclaiming, "32 west, leftlane," and under that, the sign says, "National Business Parkway."

A short distance later, another sign tells motorists, "We apologize for the growing pains," and under that, "New Patuxent Freeway."

What do we call this road, I wondered.

And how many other people have asked themselves the same question, but just don't have the inclination to seek the answer?

Confident that the public has a right to know, I called the State Highway Administration to find out.

Larry Patterson, area engineer out of the District 7 office in Frederick, explained that the sign with "National Business Parkway" is meant to direct people to a street by that name which feeds into the National Business Park.

Larry Lichtenauer, a spokesman for the KMS Group, which developed the business park, explained that the new road usedto be Orion Boulevard.

"I think they're going to add an arrow to it," he said of the sign.

The SHA's Patterson, upon hearing of theconfusion caused by the contractor's signs, said the contractor willeliminate the problem.

"We asked them to get it covered up until we get the slip ramp opened up," which will be sometime in early April, Patterson said.

Oh, yes.

A slip ramp is a ramp off of another ramp, in this case off of the ramp that goes from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway south onto Route 32 west.

Now you know.