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.
As Temple Square has begun reopening to the public, visitors are wondering what is happening with the Salt Lake Temple renovation. At the Conference Center, the roof gardens provide a view of the renovation project, as shown in the following photo.
TS-Update-July-2021
Aerial view of the Salt Lake City Temple excavation and renovation project, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The lagging shown in the next photo, used to prevent cave-ins, helps contain all the soil pressure from the surrounding areas as the crews begin deeper excavation in preparation to construct three lower levels of the temple. These floors will include temple maintenance facilities, two baptistries, dressing rooms, sealing rooms, administrative offices and more. As the depth of the retaining wall increases, additional walers (horizontal steel beams) are added to strengthen the structure.
TS-Update-July-2021
The planking, or lagging, helps contain all the soil pressure from the surrounding areas as the crews begin deeper excavation in preparation to construct three lower levels of the temple, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The secant walls and buttresses shown below are reminiscent of fortresses. They contain the soil and hold the foundation of the temple in place in preparation for jack and bore drilling under the existing footings of the temple. This process will begin in August to prepare for the new foundation that will encase the existing foundation of the temple and the base isolators designed to resist seismic events.
TS-Update-July-2021
The secant walls and buttresses contain the soil and hold the foundation of the temple in place in preparation for drilling under the existing footings of the temple, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Workers continue to remove stones from the top of the temple walls and towers in preparation for vertical seismic reinforcement. So far, approximately 1,000 stones have been removed, with 4,000 more to go.
TS-Update-July-2021
Workers continue to remove stones from the top of the temple walls and towers in preparation for seismic reinforcement, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.On the Church Office Building plaza, crews remove damaged concrete on the surface of the existing slab to a depth of about 1.5 inches (4 centimeters). The machine in the photo below removes the damaged concrete in preparation for the placement of high-strength grout to repair the concrete surface.
TS-Update-July-2021
On the Church Office Building plaza, machines remove damaged concrete in preparation for grout to repair the concrete surface, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
TS-Update-July-2021
Work continues on the Church Office Building plaza as damaged concrete is removed to prepare for grout to repair the concrete surface, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
TS-Update-July-2021
A view of the Salt Lake City Utah Temple from the Church Office Building plaza as work continues on the Temple Square renovation project, Salt Lake City, July 2021.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.As announced in June 2021, the North Visitors’ Center has been decommissioned. All art, exhibits and artifacts in the building have been removed. The “Christus” statue was carefully boxed and removed by a crane on Monday, July 12, 2021. It will be placed in storage for preservation and will return to Temple Square at the end of the renovation process.
Download PhotoFor more updates, visit TempleSquare.org or the Temple Square Facebook page.