After two decades of planning and over six years of construction and renovation, the historic Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now officially stands on its new seismic safety net — a base isolation system consisting of 98 base isolators.
“The system is unlike anywhere else in the world,” Nathan Espinoza, assistant project manager with Jacobsen Construction, said in a Tuesday church press release announcing the milestone.
Ninety-eight base isolators were installed in July 2025 between the temple’s upper and lower foundations. They are mechanical devices engineered to carry more than 8 million pounds each, to isolate the temple above from the earth’s movement during a seismic event and to give the grounds space to move 5 feet in any horizontal direction during an earthquake.
Starting Thursday, crews began removing the more than 1,500 bolts connecting 392 plates to the temple’s base isolators. These plates kept the temple’s base isolators, located about 20 feet below the temple, stabilized during installation and weight transfer, according to the church’s press release.
The bolts’ removal is a “milestone moment” for the entire project, Brad Bohne, general superintendent with Jacobsen Construction, said in the church’s release.
“The temple is set free,” he added. “Free to move now during an earthquake, so (it’s) a big deal for us.”
Another milestone moment took place June 23–25, when workers reinstalled the Salt Lake Temple’s legendary east doors.
It’s a signal that the long restoration project is more than 90% complete, said Tom Lindhardt, project manager of the church’s Special Projects Department.
Immediately outside the temple, workers are currently installing stone pavement on top of snowmelt tubing, which will help the temple grounds during winter months.
Inside, workers have installed carpet in the celestial room and surrounding study areas and are making progress in the temple’s endowment rooms.
Chandeliers now also adorn the east baptismal font and other hallways and rooms inside the temple, according to the church’s release.
Learn more about the upcoming Salt Lake Temple Celebration here, and see how you can apply to be a part of it here.
