TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Temporary walls have gone up in the first floor Statehouse rotunda in Topeka to seal off most of the area to all but construction workers.

Those workers are restoring the area as part of the building's ongoing renovation. The current phase includes restoration of the south wing.

The walls still leave a path so that people walk among the east, north and west wings. And there are temporary windows looking on the workers.

The state expects to finish the 11-year renovation project late in 2011. The estimated cost is 285 million dollars, though officials acknowledge inflation could push the total higher.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)