MINOT, N.D. (KXNET) — Right now, transportation experts are counting the cars and trucks in Minot as part of a traffic study for the Department of Transportation.

The DOT is collecting data in about 100 different spots around Minot.

Workers do that with black strips on the road, along with video cameras.

Minot traffic engineers say the data helps the city figure out and plan for future road projects.

“So that tube on the ground, it is just like a rubber tube. You think of like a garden hose and on the other end is a nomadic counter. So what it does when a car goes over it, it pushes that air out, and that counter on the end reads it,” said Stephen Joerz, a traffic engineer for the City of Minot.

The DOT will collect data through the end of next week. He said Minot will get the final numbers from the DOT in about two months