Formerly, under the direction of Michael Massa, ODOT initiated a series of interstate-based Travel Information Centers, which were later transferred to local partners.

Each district is responsible for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the state and federal highways in its region.

In 1984, the Department instituted its first network of tourist information centers at interstate entry points throughout Ohio.

[6] On August 5, 2003, Governor Bob Taft unveiled his 10‑year, $5 billion "Jobs and Progress plan", developed to supply $500 million annually to ODOT for new construction and revitalization projects designed to ease freeway congestion, improve road safety, and connect rural Ohio.

This forced ODOT to create a statewide plan to address congestion issues as well as the repair of aging interstate highways.

[5] ODOT currently manages 17 major studies or projects, ranging from bridge construction to intersection redesign.

Major projects generally involve creating greater allowances for traffic flow and easing congestion.

Of particular interest to ODOT is the safety of the Cleveland Innerbelt and Dead Man's Curve, both of which experience an accident rate higher than the national average.

[9] Construction was originally planned for 2009, though resistance from some citizens in the community has put the entire project in question.

As part of another phase in the project, ODOT modified the U.S. 35 interchange to provide three continuous lanes in each direction on I‑75.

[18] To reduce traffic and accidents, as well as remove the confusion of getting on or off the freeway, the downtown split project will add lanes to the freeway in both directions, widen Mound and Fulton streets, and convert them to one-way, collector/distributor streets, and move the current on/off-ramps to facilitate better traffic flow.

While this will add considerable cost to the project, it is hoped that the freeway caps will link neighborhoods that were divided when the interstate highway system was put in.

Twelve overpasses were originally looked at for freeway caps, though the list has been narrowed to six due to budget constraints.

Needing a replacement for the outdated Craig Memorial Bridge in Toledo, the department initiated the Veterans' Glass City Skyway project, with an estimated price tag of $234 million.

[22] The original completion date was for May 2006, but the project was struck with a sixteen-month-long delay after an accident killed four workers on February 16, 2004.

[34] These highways support the fifth-greatest traffic volume by total vehicle miles,[35] the third-greatest value of commercial freight, and contain the second-largest inventory of bridges in the nation as well.

[36] Included with these highways are over 15,000 bridges and culverts, 6,200 on/off ramps, 5,000 stop signs, 3,400 intersections, and 3,100 miles (5,000 km) of guardrail.

The planning and programs department is responsible for monitoring the district work program, monitoring department adherence to environmental regulations, ensuring community involvement in transportation decisions, and using budget allocations to select improvement projects.

The principal responsibilities of the highway management department are road maintenance and snow and ice removal.

Besides these, the department also manages traffic signals, materials testing, bridge inspection, construction contracts, road signs, and highway striping.

[39] The Ohio Department of Transportation currently operates a statewide traffic management center to monitor the highways in the State from a centralized location in Columbus.

The Traffic Management Center is also responsible for operating the I-90 Variable Speed Corridor in Lake County, as well as the I-670 SmartLane in Columbus.

[40] The Ohio Department of Transportation currently has access to 1,536 snowplows to help maintain good road conditions during winter months and has approximately 2,500 employees available each season for snow and ice removal.

[41] ODOT now manages a decentralized snow and ice program, giving districts, counties, and snowplow operators a set of guidelines to follow, which can be modified to best assist the area.

[41] In 2000 ODOT began installing pavement sensors and Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices, as well as generating computer-modeled snowplow routes to enhance its snow and ice removal program.

By identifying and reporting weather conditions on the highway, the sensors help ODOT prioritize its response and more efficiently clear the roads.

Data on equipment capabilities, personnel resources, facility locations, and highway types are entered into the system.

This allows the department to track the exact location of snow removal equipment and determine which routes have already been serviced.