Bill Holtzclaw billboard

A billboard taken out by state Sen. Bill Holtzclaw opposing Gov. Robert Bentley's proposal to raise taxes. The billboard is located on University Drive just west of Research Park Boulevard. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

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ALDOT Director John Cooper (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com)

The director of the Alabama Department of Transportation said he halted road projects in a north Alabama senator's district because of a billboard the senator put up critical of Gov. Robert Bentley.

John Cooper, an appointee of Bentley, said he thought Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison went "over the line" when Holtzclaw rented space on a billboard that said, "Governor Bentley wants to raise your taxes. I will not let that happen. Semper Fi - Senator Bill Holtzclaw." Holtzclaw served in the Marines.

"I simply thought the billboard was just a step too far," Cooper said.

Cooper told AL.com he did not know a specific number of projects he ordered stopped, but said they would have cost in the range of $100 million over the next two to three years.

"If Sen. Holtzclaw is that concerned with taxes I think he probably would be uncomfortable with us spending tax money in his district, so I pulled the projects," Cooper said.

Bentley announced last week that he would propose a $700 million tax increase to close a shortfall in the General Fund budget.

Bentley also said at that time, in response to questions about whether he would try to strong-arm legislators into supporting his plan by threatening to withhold project funds: "We will look more favorably on areas of the state that really do want to support our budget."

Cooper said today that Bentley did not instruct him to stop the projects. He said he informed Bentley about his decision in a phone call but declined to say how the governor reacted.

"I didn't see or hear any reaction," Cooper said.

Cooper said he did not recall ever stopping a project for a similar reason before.

Asked if he was concerned about upsetting the process of setting road project priorities based on need, Cooper said there are so many projects needed around the state that "it's very difficult to say that one project is needed more than another."

The governor's office did not respond to requests for comments on this story on Thursday.

Holtzclaw has announced he will hold a news conference in Madison at 1 p.m. on Friday.

This story was updated at 10:09 a.m. Feb. 27 to add last two sentences.