Cut and Fill Volume Calculator (Average End Area)

How it works

Volume between stations = (A₁ + A₂) ÷ 2 × L; bank volume for fill = compacted fill ÷ (1 − shrinkage); loose volume = bank × (1 + swell); net = cut − bank needed

Earthwork is estimated from cross-sections: at each survey station the area of cut (above the design grade) and fill (below it) is measured from the profile, and the volume between adjacent stations is the average of the two end areas times the spacing. Summed along the alignment this gives total cut and fill, but the two are not directly comparable — excavated earth fluffs up by 20–30% in the truck (swell) and, once compacted in the fill, occupies about 10% less than it did in the ground (shrinkage). Converting everything to bank measure shows whether the job balances or needs import or disposal, and the mass-haul diagram built from cumulative volumes tells the contractor how far material must be moved. The average-end-area method slightly over-estimates where sections taper to nothing, which the prismoidal formula corrects.

Worked example

Seven stations 20 m apart with the listed areas: cut 2,100 m³ (bank), fill 920 m³ compacted, which needs about 1,022 m³ of bank material at 10% shrinkage — a surplus of roughly 1,078 m³ (1,347 m³ loose, 113 truckloads of 12 m³) to haul away.

Frequently asked questions