The first of 98 base isolators has been installed as part of the ongoing Salt Lake Temple renovations, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced this week.
Base isolators are mechanical devices that isolate the earth’s movement from the building above during a seismic event, according to the Church’s news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org dated May 23. A single base isolator weighs 18,000 pounds but can carry a weight of 8 million pounds. Installing isolators will allow the temple to move horizontally up to five feet in any direction during an earthquake.
The first base isolator was placed May 3 on the new footing on the temple’s west side. The new footings surround the towers on the east and west ends of the temple, extending down 35 feet and away from the original structure.
The base isolator’s installation marks a major milestone for the renovation project that began in 2020 and was recently given a new completion date of 2026.
Additionally, beginning June 1, a newly completed portion of the plaza south of the Church Office Building will be open during regular Temple Square hours. It will be accessible from the west side of State Street, as well as from a walkway between the Church Administration Building and the Lion House.
When the plaza fully reopens, it will display 91 international flags to represent the Church’s global growth.
It will also include a stone monument inscribed with the scripture Isaiah 2:2: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”
Construction continues on the plaza areas between the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and the Church Administration Building, as well as on the Main Street Plaza and west half of the plaza near the Church Office Building. This area is expected to be completed at the end of 2023.
