TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: New ODOT app eases daily commute

A new tool from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) can help commuting Ohioans reduce traffic anxiety on a daily basis.

ODOT has launched a new app, called OHGO, that provides drivers with location-based traffic alerts, construction information and delays.

Unlike social traffic apps like Waze that rely on user input to record delays and detours, OHGO has traffic operators at ODOT's 24-hour traffic management center in Columbus adding all traffic updates to the app.

The app uses information from ODOT's speed sensors to determine delays, provides real-time traffic maps and gives users access to its traffic cameras along their routes.

All of that information previously was available on ODOT's website, but the department wanted to make the travel information more accessible.

App users can preset routes—like their daily commute—into the app and schedule push notifications about traffic along those routes for specific hours. They also can set a radius around their location and receive notifications for that specified region.