It's been a long, long,

time coming, but the day may finally have arrived: the abanonded MKT rail line through the Heights might just be turned into a hike-and-bike trail.

The Texas Department of Transportation has received a set of bids on the "Rails to Trails" project, with the low bid coming in about five percent below the estimated $3.5 million cost. (High bid was almost $5.6 million.)

The project, which has been talked about for a decade or so, would create a trail from Shepherd to Houston Avenue.

The path would parallel 7th Street until a bit past Heights Boulevard, where it will dip down, cross White Oak Bayou near I-10 and Studemont, and then cross through the gentrifying neighborhoods north of Washington Avenue.

If it happens, of course.

TxDOT spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis says not to worry: The bids are in, the contract's been "let," and "it's going forward," she says.

Work should begin in a couple of weeks, with completion about a year from now, she says.

-- Richard Connelly