With the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovation and seismic-upgrade project marking its two-year anniversary earlier this year, 2022 has seen considerable — and visible — construction and expansion, not just predominant decommission, demolition and removal efforts of the first two years in and around the temple.
The decommission of the temple included the removal of furniture, lights and carpeting inside, while outside demolition of the old temple annex prepared for the massive 65-foot-deep excavation on the temple’s north side for the new three-story addition.
The 2022 highlights have included preparing for and beginning new construction of the north annex, the new guest building and pavilions, and the jack-and-bore processes used in strengthening of the temple foundation and seismic upgrades.
For the seismic upgrades, the temple is first tied together — stones, towers and roof trusses. The base isolation system then creates a separation from the earth, allowing the ground to move but not the building.
Below are some of the project’s highlights, efforts and areas so far in 2022.
Jack and bore
With the use of reinforced steel tubes, the jack-and-bore process is key to the seismic upgrade of the temple, suspending the 187 million-pound building while crews excavate 20 feet below its nearly 170-year-old foundation in downtown Salt Lake City.
And the result is a new foundation to give strength, stability and mobility to the temple during an earthquake. The planning is high-tech, but the digging under the foundation is tedious — done by hand, an inch at a time, moving in and out of 4-foot-diameter steel pipes.
Jacking is the pushing of the pipe into place with hydraulic rams, and boring is the digging — usually done with large augers. However, because of the large rocks being found in the foundation and the need for precision, the boring is being done by hand — hand-measured, hand-dug and then laser-confirmed.
For the Salt Lake Temple project, the jack and bore will place 96 pipes ranging from 20 to 40 feet in length under the temple. The pipes join the cables, rods, trusses and transfer bases and are tied to the spires, roof and building so the temple moves as a solid structure in an earthquake.
North addition
Excavation north of the temple for the addition on that side went 30 feet beyond the depth of the since-removed old annex, with the excavation on other sides of the temple to help further stabilization efforts.
Large concrete pours were common on the north side — first for the foundation for the three-level addition, then for the installation of walls and columns to support the upper floors. By May, the pours had started for the addition’s floors.
The new addition will house baptistries, sealing rooms, dressing rooms, administrative offices and more.
South, north visitors’ centers
Gone are the visitors’ centers on either side of Temple Square proper, as 2022 saw demolition and removal of the north center and the completion of the demolition and excavation of its south counterpart. And not only gone are the structures themselves but the “visitors’ centers” labels as well.
With excavation recently completed on the south center, crews are beginning to erect the new multilevel guest building and above-ground pavilions planned there. Together, they will provide visitors with an experience to help understand Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, the role of the Savior Jesus Christ in that plan, the purposes of temples to unite families for eternity and the importance of families as society’s foundation.
Offering direct, unobstructed views of the temple from its south side, the pavilions will be connected by the guest building’s large underground exhibit and restrooms. The lower level will feature an ongoing temple open-house experience, including replicas of sacred ordinance rooms found in the temple, such as a baptismal font and instruction, sealing and celestial rooms.
The upper level will house a statue of Jesus Christ and an updated cutaway scale model of the Salt Lake Temple.
In the space where the north center stood, new restroom facilities there will be used for those attending events at the nearby Tabernacle and Assembly Hall. A newly designed contemplative garden area and landscaping is being installed, with a new water well drilled there as well.
Church Office Building plaza
Work in early 2022 included the removal of damaged concrete to a depth of 2 to 2.5 inches, waterproofing repaired concrete surfaces, installing large Styrofoam blocks under landscape areas to reduce the load on the existing concrete deck.
Later, snow-melt conduits were placed where walkways were to be poured with concrete to provide snow-free access in the winter. Fountain and garden renovations have continued, with some walls near State Street featuring new stonework. Also, the plaza has received new stone pavers and stonework.
The plaza portion of the project is expected to be done as early as the end of this year.
Main Street Plaza
In March, the Church published renderings of how the renovations of the Main Street Plaza — the area connecting North Temple and South Temple — will tie in with those of Temple Square proper and the east side of Church headquarters.
The plaza closed in April for extensive remodeling and refining, with existing planter areas, reflecting pool and walkways having been removed.
Work there includes inspecting and repairing the plaza deck, updating the waterproofing system, refurbishing the north and south entry fountains, installing a larger reflecting pool at the plaza’s center, and refreshing the landscape design to better integrate the plaza with the temple grounds and Church Office Building plaza.
Salt Lake Temple — key dates
- Announced — July 28, 1847, by President Brigham Young
- Groundbreaking — Feb. 14, 1853, by President Young
- Dedication — April 6, 1893, by President Wilford Woodruff
- Original annex demolished — 1962
- North annex formally dedicated — Oct. 23, 1967
- Renovations announced — April 19, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson
- Temple closed for renovations — Dec. 29, 2019
- Expected completion of renovations — 2025
Quoteworthy
- “I want to see the temple built in a manner that it will endure through the Millennium.” — President Brigham Young, during construction of the Salt Lake Temple in the second half of the 19th century
- “We promise you that you will love the results. They will emphasize and highlight the life, ministry and mission of Jesus Christ in His desire to bless every nation, kindred, tongue and people.” — President Russell M. Nelson, announcing on April 19, 2019, the Dec. 29 closure and multiyear project to renovate the Salt Lake Temple and surrounding grounds
- “Yes, the house of the Lord is beautiful and needs to be beautiful and needs to be done right, but it’s the beauty of the ordinances and the sacredness of what goes on in the temple that is truly important.” — Brent Roberts, managing director of the Church’s Special Projects Department, on the restoration of the Salt Lake Temple
