The state Department of Transportation has delayed for at least five years the planned refurbishment of the old Seven Mile Bridge off Marathon.

Alice Bravo, DOT's District 6 director of transportation systems development, made the announcement at Wednesday's Monroe County Commission meeting in Key Largo.

She said when DOT presents its next Keys work plan in December, the bridge project will be off the list.

''It will be deferred from the five-year work plan covering fiscal years 2010 to 2011,'' Bravo said.

The bulk of DOT's revenue is derived from gas taxes based on a fixed number of cents per gallon. Bravo told the commission declining consumption has shrunk DOT's work program significantly.

Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro appeared defeated when he asked Bravo, ``Were we just an easy target?''

Bravo responded that the volume of traffic a bridge accommodates weighs funding for projects heavily.

''That hurts this project,'' Bravo said. ``We have to prioritize our funding.''

The 2.2-mile span leading to historic Pigeon Key was closed to vehicular traffic March 4 due to its degradation. Then in mid-June, DOT banned fishing from what was among the most popular shoreline fishing spots in the Keys.

But the only traffic before that most days was ''Henry,'' a Jeep-turned-trolley used to transport visitors to the island. The bridge is open only to pedestrians and bicyclists now.

Pigeon Key Foundation Vice President Jim Rhyne said a struggling economy has ''played hell'' with the island and news of DOT's decision is just more adversity to overcome.

''We'll continue to operate as best we can and provide access as best we can,'' Rhyne said. He insisted the foundation would not shut down.

''There's a tremendous volunteer effort with the city of Marathon we've been able to rely on, not for money, but to keep the place up,'' he said.

Visitors can reach the island via a DOT-funded ferry service that launches from the Knights Key Campground. The county received a $750,000 grant from DOT to fund the ferry for up to three years. The contract with Paradise Divers Inc. of Big Pine Key was agreed to in November 2007 and commenced a month later.

The commission on Wednesday approved the second of four possible six-month extensions.

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