Hundreds of construction team members gather Tuesday, February 13, 2024, for the placement of the final reinforcing steel pyramid atop the Salt Lake Temple. (Photo: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints achieved what they said was a meaningful milestone Tuesday in the massive Salt Lake Temple renovation project.
Church officials announced that the final steel pyramid for reinforcing the temple’s spires has now been placed. When the renovation began in 2020, the six spires were taken down as part of the process.
The exact position of each stone was mapped, catalogued, tracked and stored for cleaning to ensure a seamless return to the original spots on top of the temple. Beginning in summer 2023, reinforcing spire steel plates and the refurbished spire stones began to be added to the temple.
The goal was to retrofit the temple in preparation for any significant earthquakes in the future. And while the project was largely improving the foundation, the spires would be “at risk of whipping around in a big seismic event,” according to Brad Bohne with Jacobsen Construction.
Bohne said it’s taken a lot of careful planning and engineering to reinforce the spires while not compromising their craftsmanship. The downtown temple took 40 years to build back in the 1800s. Steel plates and steel pyramids inside the spires will help protect the historic building that millions of church members also hold sacred.
“Stone that was crafted by 19th-century builders is put back onto the temple just as it was, this time with the help of 21st-century steel technology that gives the spires even more strength and stability,” said Ryan Memmott, the executive project manager of Schuff Steel.
The church said in Tuesday’s announcement that there are also steel cables running from the spires to the foundation.
The project, which also includes “generally refreshing” the Temple Square block, is expected to be finished in 2026.