Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Construction on the Salt Lake Temple reached a milestone Tuesday that was celebrated by over 800 construction team members.
The final reinforcing steel pyramid was placed on the temple, almost four years into the renovation of the temple that has become an iconic symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Crews removed the stones from the spires shortly after the renovation began, keeping track of the exact position of each stone. Workers began placing reinforced steel and the refurbished stones on the top of the temple starting in the summer of 2023, according to a press release.
The extensive renovation still has years to go, as completion is now expected in 2026.
Josh Fenn, with Jacobsen Construction, oversees the renovation at Temple Square and said it's a joyful feeling to know others will start to recognize the temple, now with the spires in place.
He said celebrating milestones like this are valuable reminders of how significant the team's daily work is.
"Countless people continue to give their heart and soul to this renovation," Fenn said. "So, seeing a big step forward like this come to fruition — it's really touching, for all of us."
The Salt Lake Temple, along with other areas on Temple Square, are being renovated and updated to prevent earthquake damage should an earthquake occur.
Brad Bohne, who oversees field operations for the project, with Jacobsen Construction, said people are drawn to the six spires which point to heaven.
"It's always been a big deal for our project team to protect these. Being relatively tall and skinny structures on top of a really massive, heavy building, these spires were at risk of whipping around in a big seismic event. Holding these in place has been a challenge that has taken years of planning, predictive modeling, scanning and considering what the steel needed to do to match the available space in the towers," he said.
The supports use Point Cloud technology, which helps to keep the same size, shape and position as the original temple.
Ryan Memmott, executive project manager with Schuff Steel, said once the steel is anchored to the stone, and the final steel pyramid is added to the construction, workers will waterproof the steel and place stones back to create a unified spire.
David Rees, senior principal with FFKR, the architecture firm handling the project, said the renovation is not just focused on the base of the temple, but protecting the top of the temple from seismic events is also important.
