Bloomington to Roseville commute relief

I live in Bloomington while working in Roseville.  Let's face it: there is no good way to get from one place to the other.  Most days I just bite the bullet, take a swill of whiskey to numb the pain, and drive right up 35W. 

My alternative route has been to take 494 east to 5, drive past the airport and over the river where I take the Edgcumbe exit.  From there, I drive up though St. Paul on Fairview, blah, blah, blah.

However, given that I live west of Highway 100, 494 can really be a pain.  Recently, I've actually taken 100 north all the way up to 694 and then 694 over to Snelling.  Somehow the traffic engineering wizards managed to conjure up a third lane between those antique, narrow underpasses through St. Louis Park.

100 to 694 takes longer than the other routes when the other routes are uncongested (before 6:30 am), but thus far it has been consistent and has taken less time than the others during rush hour.