Update on the restoration of the Salt Lake Temple before the General Conference

Salt Lake City – a huge Salt Lake Temple. For the first time, we know how attractive this landmark is.

“Well, the temple, it weighs about 187 million pounds,” Brandan Rowley said in a video recently released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Rowley is the supervisor of a four-year project to renovate and restore – and most importantly – give the temple’s foundation a massive seismic upgrade.

The project boils down to one amazing question: How can you support the Pioneer-era stone foundations to protect a dear 100,000-ton landmark from high-strength earthquakes that lasts for hundreds of additional years?

The answer appears in the literal scene as the church prepares for its 190 bi-annual general conference on Saturdays and Sundays. Recent excavations have uncovered much of the stone foundation that was laid in 1853. A church spokesperson said that Temple Square would be closed during the conference, but passers-by can now see that huge painting of history with their own eyes from the temple’s north and south streets.

“We reveal some of the historical foundation stones that were originally laid for the construction of the temple,” Andy Kirby, Director of Historic Temple Restoration at the Church, said in the video. “It strengthens the perspective of sacrifice that has had to lay this foundation for future generations of the church. It’s amazing to me.”

Grid view

The renewal of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, the renewal of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Geoffrey D. Allred, Deseret News The renewal of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey De Allred, Deseret News Renovation of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News The renewal of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News The renewal of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City continues Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Renovation of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City will continue on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Exposing the foundations is critical to strengthening them, and it happens in three main ways. One of them will be the most important and difficult part of the project.

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First, workers have spent the past two months digging 3-inch-wide holes at different angles in the foundations on the north side of the temple. They are digging 8 to 14 feet deep into the northern walls and will do the same in the south over the next few months.

They will dig 10 to 35 feet deep into the east and west walls because the foundations of the temple tower are larger.

Drilling sets fill each hole with high-strength plaster, which also pushes out into the voids and will support the foundations.

The work itself continues out of sight inside the temple walls, with workers also exposing the foundation so that it can be strengthened by digging in from the middle of the foundation as well.

Retaining wall around the temple

Second, crews are excavating 40 to 60 feet around the temple and building a strong underground reserve wall around the temple site.

To make room for excavation, summer crews spent the summer demolishing and removing most of the improvements added around the temple in the 1960s, including the North Entrance, North Church, Cafeteria and Locker Rooms as well as the Seal Room.

Now, massive fountains are digging holes for columns to support a spare wall around the construction site and another around the temple’s foundation.

In each case, Bashir digs a hole 40 to 60 feet underground and then the crew places a pipe-like section down the hole. Then the crew members place a steel beam down the center of the hole, fill the hole with concrete and remove the casing. Each steel and concrete vertical shaft is called a soldier pile.

Piles of soldier were installed on the north side of the temple and are now added on the west side. The concrete beams are attached to steel cables and lag – 4-inch-thick logs – to keep the ground in the back. Retaining walls are essential to keep the ground around the excavation site from collapsing on site and to keep the foundation firmly in place.

“We don’t want to have any chance of material flowing from under the foundations that would lead to cracking or settlement,” said Scott Chambers, Vice President of Malcolm Drilling in the video.

Basic insulation system

Third, project managers are preparing to install a base insulation system that will allow the temple to move without damage during a major earthquake.

“The next stage may be the most difficult,” Kirby said.

This is also where the temple weight comes into play. Workers will place 98 basic insulators under the temple’s foundations. The primary insulation is shaped like a hockey puck with an upper and lower plate. In the center is a stainless steel concave plate with a ball bearing inside, Rowley said.

Each core insulator can hold 9 million pounds of pressure, which means the core insulation system kit can withstand five times the colossal weight of the temple during a severe earthquake.

“The curved plate will allow the temple to float somewhat and slow the building down when it starts to settle again,” said Rowley.

The church has installed base isolation systems under new temples in areas with frequent earthquakes. These systems successfully protected at least one of those temples during a very strong earthquake, Brent Roberts, the church’s director of projects, previously told Deseret News.

David Hart, a former executive director of the Utah State Capitol Preservation Council, said a temple with a base isolation system would still experience a magnitude 7.3 earthquake at a level of 5.1 or 5.2, so reinforcing temple walls and towers is vital. Previous interview.

In fact, Rowley, who worked on the primary insulation installed under the Utah State Capitol during the 2004-08 renovation, said plaster infused into temple walls and foundations is part of the primary insulation system.

Once the plaster has been infused, teams will drill new holes to attach metal rods to the foundation and help hold the foundation together. Then the team installs transmission girders.

“This will help the organization withstand the stress of actually sitting on top of the insulators,” said Rowley.

Recycling

Utah has deemed construction work necessary during the pandemic, so COVID-19 hasn’t slowed the project down. However, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake on March 18th stopped working for about a week while safety assessments were being carried out.

Reviews led to the rapid removal of the temple towers, or crowns, and the removal of the statue of the Angel Moroni, who lost his trumpet in the earthquake. A crane removed the statue on May 18.

Work crews are also focused on reducing the amount of debris sent to landfills.

They recycle copper, aluminum, steel, stone, and concrete. For example, workers break down concrete and separate rebar and hardened steel. Concrete and stone go to the crusher for reuse in other construction projects in Utah.

“We are proud of our efforts to be good stewards,” Kirby said.

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