Wills Bros Trimble kit on A9 dualling: survey accuracy insights for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Wills Bros Civil Engineering has deployed 26 pieces of Trimble survey equipment from Sitech UK & Ireland on the £3.97bn A9 dualling scheme, starting on the Tay Crossing–Ballinluig section of the 83‑mile upgrade between single and dual carriageway. The package includes seven SPS930 robotic total stations, five R780 GNSS rovers, two R750 GNSS base stations with TDL450 repeaters, and 12 new TSC510 controllers running Siteworks software. Engineers expect improved positional accuracy and productivity across varied Highland terrain, supporting tight programme and budget constraints to 2035.
Technical Brief
- Seven Trimble SPS930 robotic total stations provide one-person operation, reducing labour demand for topographic and setting-out surveys.
- Five R780 GNSS rovers allow continuous kinematic surveying across mixed open and partially obstructed Highland terrain.
- Two R750 GNSS base stations with TDL450 radio repeaters extend RTK coverage where mobile data is unreliable.
- Twelve TSC510 controllers standardise field data capture, running Siteworks for consistent coordinate systems and coding.
- Sitech UK & Ireland supplies and supports the full 26-unit package, simplifying calibration, firmware and warranty management.
- Robotic total stations and RTK GNSS integration enable rapid cross-checks between control networks and machine guidance models.
- High-precision survey control is critical for earthworks volumes, drainage falls and pavement thickness compliance over long sections.
Our Take
Trimble’s role on the A9 dualling in Scotland echoes its expanding footprint in European civils, also seen in the Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe deal to factory‑fit Trimble Earthworks, signalling that contractors like Wills Bros will increasingly find Trimble workflows embedded from survey through to machine control.
For a long, multi‑section corridor job such as the A9 in Perth & Kinross, standardising on a single survey/control ecosystem from Sitech UK & Ireland reduces data handover risk between phases and contractors, which is often a hidden cost driver on linear infrastructure in our infrastructure project coverage.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
