Agreed with the last post above, the Hutch can be and has been a mess for the last 40 years since I've been driving on it on a regular basis along its various waypoints, well before GPS days - and in the morning rush, totally unpredictable, overnight constructions & the weather "God" aside. Going northbound one weekday morning last month, traffic was a dead stop southbound for a good 2 miles when someone did a 270 deg or 540 deg turn, waiting for state police & tow, with ambulance already on scene (airbag gone off, saw it but no rollover)

Real-time traffic is key, Waze/Google Nav + traffic radio (880/1010 AM, etc.) as you need real look "far" ahead to plot your last minute "bail out" plans. Big thumbs up with the latest enhancement to Google Map, even on iOS devices.

Coming south via the Merritt/Hutch at 7:30 to 8 AM is mostly nasty & brutal once you are south of Rt. 287 with the 4 lanes merging into 2, then more bottlenecks south of the Cross County Parkway into the city - and, the Bruckner to FDR, whether via the RFK or free Willis Ave. bridge is always full of surprises - having lived in & commuted daily on those routes for years also. Instead, if sticking with the 684/Hutch, keep left at the Cross County split & merge onto the CCP to the Saw Mills, essentially coming down via Yonkers/Riverdale into Inwood/Upper Manhattan via the West Side Hwy - using EZ-Pass crossing the Henry Hudson Bridge. No commercial, heavy truck & bus traffic to deal with - and with the timed traffic lights after the WSH end onto local @ 57th Street, it's easy to work the final stretch to 34th Street.

Off-topic, it is going to be very expensive to PARK in that area, even with Early Bird specials at various garages, but what the heck - corporate expense account anyway, correct. Car service to the train into midtown would be my choice and if there is snow in the forecast, all bets are off. Good luck & let us know the outcome - as it sounded like you need to be "there" by a definite time in the morning.

(Footnote - as JumboJet said below, Cross County is always busy in the AM/PM rush, but at least the "confusing" lanes are wider and GPS would be a life saver for time. Lesser of the evils over I-95/Bruckner/FDR combo-mix with commercial vehicles)