Curb and Gutter Calculator

The amount depends on the curb profile and the total linear footage. For a CDOT profile with a cross-section area of about 97.5 square inches, the volume works out to roughly 0.028 cubic yards per linear foot when you include the built-in 10% overage. That means 100 linear feet comes out to about 2.76 cubic yards. A barrier curb profile uses more concrete, at about 0.031 cubic yards per linear foot with overage. The calculator above handles the section area and the conversion automatically for any profile and any run length.

The cross-section of a curb and gutter is an irregular polygon that can be broken into rectangles and triangles for calculation. For a typical CDOT profile, the gutter pan can be treated as a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 6 inches thick, while the curb body is treated as a combination of rectangular and triangular pieces above the gutter surface. When those pieces are added and trimmed for the sloped face, the final section is about 97.5 square inches. This calculator automates that step for standard profiles and also allows a direct custom area input when the engineer has already published the section area.

Barrier curb has a near-vertical or slightly battered face that is designed to prevent vehicles from mounting the curb. It is used on higher-speed roads, medians, and pedestrian-sensitive locations where vehicle containment is part of the design intent. Mountable curb has a sloped face, usually in the range of about 1:3 to 1:6, that allows vehicles to drive over it without severe impact. It is commonly used at driveway approaches, parking lot entries, and low-speed streets. Because the barrier profile is larger, it also requires more concrete per linear foot than mountable curb.

Volume per linear foot depends on the selected profile. CDOT is about 0.025 cubic yards per linear foot net, or about 0.028 cubic yards per linear foot with 10% overage. Barrier curb is about 0.028 net and 0.031 with overage. Mountable curb is about 0.020 net and 0.022 with overage. Rolled curb is about 0.015 net and 0.017 with overage, while a curb-only section is about 0.011 net and 0.012 with overage. Those are standard reference values, so always confirm the actual section with project drawings before ordering.

A curb and gutter machine, sometimes called a slip-form paver, can typically produce about 500 to 1,500 linear feet of curb and gutter per day depending on the profile, site conditions, haul spacing, and crew size. Hand-formed curb and gutter is much slower and can drop into the 50 to 150 linear foot per day range for a small crew. For production planning, the volume-per-linear-foot output is useful because it tells you how many cubic yards each truck covers. On a CDOT section, a 10-yard truck covers roughly 360 linear feet with the overage buffer.

Most DOT curb and gutter specifications call for concrete in the 3,500 to 4,000 psi range at 28 days, often with air entrainment for freeze-thaw resistance in colder climates. A maximum water-cement ratio around 0.45 to 0.50 is common, and slump is usually kept relatively low, often around 1 to 3 inches for machine-poured work, so the curb face holds its shape after placement. The exact mix design, air content, and admixture limits still come from the project specifications, so the calculator should be used for quantity only, not for final mix approval.

Curb and gutter work in the public right-of-way almost always requires a permit from the local municipality or the relevant DOT, and the work typically has to follow published standard details, inspection requirements, and concrete mix specifications. Work on private property, such as a parking lot or private drive, may still require a site-development or building permit as part of the larger project approval. Replacing existing curb in kind can sometimes qualify for a simpler permit path, but that varies by city, so it is not safe to assume no permit is needed.

Bagged concrete is practical for short curb and gutter runs under about 50 linear feet, such as a driveway approach repair, a small parking lot curb segment, or a localized curb replacement. For a 50-linear-foot CDOT run, the volume with overage is about 1.38 cubic yards, which is still a substantial amount of hand mixing. Once the run gets longer, ready-mix is strongly preferred because curb and gutter is usually placed as one continuous operation and the time required to mix large volumes by hand makes cold joints and inconsistent placement much more likely.