Temple Square Renovation Update: May 2021

The Salt Lake Temple has been closed for renovation since December 2019. The Church Office Building plaza closed for an upgrade in February 2021. The following is the latest in a series of regular updates about these projects.

Crews have reached the end of a new 180-foot-long (55 meters) tunnel underneath North Temple street that will connect the Conference Center parking lot to the new underground temple entrance. The final work of removing the concrete wall that leads into the Conference Center parking structure will be done later.

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Crews have reached the end of the 180-foot-long (55 meters) tunnel underneath North Temple street that will connect the Conference Center parking lot to the new underground temple entrance. The final work of removing the concrete wall that leads into the Conference Center parking structure will be done later.© 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Workers recently began placing scaffolding on the west and north sides of the temple. The photo below is of the north wall. Scaffolding already covers the south side and will eventually surround the entire structure.

Crews continue to remove rows of stones from the temple walls for repair and cleaning. Each stone is carefully labeled and will be returned to its original spot.

To keep Salt Lake City clean, the renovation site has a truck washing bay. Before vehicles exit the temple renovation site onto South Temple street, wheels, axles, mud flaps and other parts of each vehicle are thoroughly sprayed.

The photo below shows the progress of the excavation on the north side of the temple. The tunnel (shown in the first two photos above) is on the far left. In the middle is the preparation for the tower crane. This crane will be in place after the crane concrete foundation is poured. Lagging surrounds the site to keep soil in place.

This photo looks west at the renovation of the Church Office Building plaza. The Church Administration Building (left), the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (middle) and Church Office Building (right) are also shown. Crews are using conveyor belts to move soil and debris to a truck loading location. Trucks enter the site from North Temple and exit onto South Temple.

Finally, below are several square-headed nails that crews have found in the temple. These show some of the workmanship and materials used to build the Salt Lake Temple, which was finished in 1893. The longest nails are six inches (15 centimeters) long and show few signs of corrosion.