A Long Commute

I am praying for a very, very mild winter.
Right now, the only complaint I have about my new job is the commute. It is nearly 45 miles. And, so far, I haven't found a route that makes it easy. The ride in the morning isn't too bad (only about 45 minutes or so), but that is at 6AM, before the freeway backs up. The evening ride is an hour and 15 minutes, no matter what I try. The freeway is stop and go. If I take Schaefer to Coolidge, and then my old route up Woodward, there is far less traffic. But, I can't go over 35 miles/hr for most of the trip. Telegraph is faster, but then I have to go west to go east, which just seems silly.
I can only imagine what ice and snow is going to do to complicate things.
I am praying for a very, very mild winter.