Preparation for the Temple Basement Begins

Excavation continues to the point that there is no longer a hole under the Tabernacle -- it's just wide open.

With two weeks of temperatures below freezing, this track hoe was working hard to get through the ground.  The tandem trailers were lined up again on First West, taking their turns at the site.

I know there's going to be underground parking at the new temple, but it's not going to be here.

There is no longer any trace of First South.

Normally there is always something going on along the east side, but not so much today.  

This man worked alone grinding rocks off the piers.

I arrived close to noon so these machines were quiet, but I suspect these lifts are for carrying workmen to high points on the piers so they can grind the rocks off there, too.

The north lot appears to be fully excavated.  It is now becoming a staging ground for what I believe is work on the basement.  Printing on the white bags being stationed at the west end of the retaining wall say, "Ash Grove."  A google search leads me to believe this is some kind of cement, and there were many more bags on the south lot.  Notice the construction lights next to the white generator at the right of this picture.

The north lot is going to be the place to watch for the next few weeks.

This piece of machinery was being dragged from the south lot to the north.  The writing on the side says, "Dewind Dewatering Inc.  A google search indicates this a construction site dewatering machine.  If I were going to build a basement in ground that was once part of the Provo River, I'd want to make sure it was protected from the water table which ebbs and rises depending on the snowfall.  

This view of the north lot from the west shows two more construction light sets, one on the far left, and another on the far right, next to the mound of dirt by the tabernacle.