Even arriving at 9:45AM you will be going through the Merritt at a really bad time.
Unfortunately this is a rough commute on 95/15, especially in the afternoon.
You could try something like this route:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.1...41.2042616!3e0
It looks longer and is pretty much all backroads, but will likely be a lot easier than the Merritt.