Topeka ? Workers at the Kansas Statehouse are scrambling to give Senators a place for the upcoming legislative session.

The 10-year, $150 million renovation of the state government’s home is not due to be complete until October 2010, but the building’s east wing is to be finished before the start of the three-month lawmaking period, which begins Jan. 9. That wing includes the Senate chamber, where renovators have completed many of the major projects.

Substantial work remains for the renovators. The east wing is the oldest part of the building, begun in 1866, occupied in 1870 and finished in 1873.

To ensure the Senate chamber is able to open Dec. 19, contractors have moved some workers away from work on two underground office wings for legislative staff members and the media.

Greis said those workers now are working on the Senate chamber.

Among the workers at the Statehouse is David Greene, who says he’s been working 13 hours a day, seven days a week as a foreman for Evergreen Painting Studios.

The studio is doing plaster restoration and painting in the east wing.

Greene’s 37-member crew includes craftsmen and sculptors from around the country and the world.

Even seemingly simple tasks – like painting the Statehouse – have been complicated by the goal of restoring the building to its original state.

Greene said analysts removed layers of paint from the walls, then used a microscope to examine it and find an exact color match.

“We’re trying to be as authentic as we can,” he said.