Precast pair in place. The guard bears directly on the two footings — no forms, no cure time.
Precast Cattle Guard Foundations
POWDER RIVER
Sold per pair · sized to your guard width · $1,499–$2,399
Match this to the road width of your guard. A pair cast for an 8' guard will not carry a 12' one.
Foundations ride the same truck as your guard — one freight charge, one delivery. Ordered on their own, a concrete shipment costs real money in freight for very little goods value.
Pick your guard — add foundations on its pageReal LTL freight from actual carrier lanes — typically $500–$1,300 in the lower 48.
Built to order · ships in 1–2 weeks · lower 48 only · We deliver. We do not install.
What you're actually buying
Two precast concrete footings, one per side of the road, cast to carry a specific guard width. You dig the vault, set the two pieces, and drop the guard on top. That's the job.
What precast removes is the slow part: building forms, scheduling ready-mix, finishing, and then waiting on concrete to cure before anything can drive over it. With precast the entrance is back in service the day the excavator leaves.
When precast is the wrong call
We'd rather say this plainly than sell you something you don't need. If you already have an excavator and a ready-mix plant you deal with, pouring locally is usually cheaper, and the drawings are free with any guard order. Precast earns its price when you don't have that lined up, when the entrance can't be closed for a cure, or when you simply want one truck to deliver everything and be done.
We walk through all three foundation types — poured, precast, and railroad-tie cribs — here.
The freight honesty section
A foundation pair weighs 2,000 to 3,200 lb depending on width. That roughly doubles the weight of your shipment and adds about 50% to the freight bill. We don't hide that in a second charge after you pay — the quoter on this page and in your cart already includes it, and the delivered number you see is the one you're charged.
The practical upshot: buy them with the guard. Foundations shipped on their own later cost real money in freight for very little goods value.
Questions
What exactly comes in a pair?
Two precast concrete footings — one for each side of the road. The guard bears on them directly. Each pair is cast for a specific guard width, so an 8' pair will not carry a 12' guard.
Do I still need an excavator?
Yes. Something has to dig the vault and set two pieces of concrete weighing 1,000 to 1,600 lb apiece. What you skip is forming, pouring, finishing and waiting on cure — not the digging.
Is precast cheaper than pouring my own?
Usually not on raw cost. Pouring locally runs less in most markets, and we send free drawings with any guard order. Precast wins when you do not have an excavator and a ready-mix plant lined up, or when you want the guard in service the same week instead of waiting on concrete.
What does it do to freight?
It is the one add-on that genuinely moves the number. A pair adds 2,000 to 3,200 lb, which runs roughly 50% on top of the guard's own freight. Our quoter already includes it — the delivered price you see with the foundation checked is the real one.
Can I order foundations on their own?
You can, but freight on a solo concrete shipment is brutal relative to the goods. If you are buying a guard at all, put them on the same truck.
Do you install them?
No. We deliver. We do not install. You will need a tractor, loader, or forklift on site — the carrier cannot unload concrete.