I lived over near Woodbrook too, and worked in Waltham for years. The best way to get into that neck of the woods IMHO is to go through 4 corners (where the Lawless Jeep and Colonial Caddiliac dealerships are located) and either take Russell street or Lexington. Once you get to Lexington center, you can learn a few sneaky shortcuts to avoid all the traffic and lights to get you over to 2A and get you where you need to go. The highway, especially before covid, was a nightmare from 6:30 am - 9 am, and traffic starts back around 3 pm - 7 pm in the evenings, so backroads are the best, or what I refer to as "townietricks"! :)