The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is warning a Bessemer developer that current plans could be impacted by the State's plans for the Northern Beltline, according to WBRC.
The letter, tweeted by WBRC's Jonathan Hardison, is from ALDOT director John Cooper, addressed to TPA Group's Brad Kaaber. TPA is planning a data center in Bessemer.
"We recognize the importance of this project to the City of Bessemer, Jefferson County, and the State of Alabama," the letter reads. "The potential for new jobs and substantial tax revenues represents a major opportunity, and we respect the significant efforts by local and state officials to recruit this investment.
EXCLUSIVE: @ALDOT Director John Cooper is warning developers of "Project Marvel", the controversial $14 billion data center project in Bessemer, of potential conflicts with the Northern Beltline project.
— Jonathan Hardison (@WBRC6Hardison) November 6, 2025
In his letter, Cooper asks for changes.....(🧵)https://t.co/EwbZbzbJjj
"However, the current site configuration presents a direct conflict with ALDOT's longstanding plans for the Beltline, a project that remains an essential part of the region's future transportation network," Cooper continued. "We have provided your engineers, a firm with substantial transportation planning expertise, layouts, maps, and other documents that show the proposed location of the BNB (Birmingham Northern Beltline) development. While proceeding with development on this site as proposed would create serious challenges for the eventual construction of the Beltline interchange, we believe your development can be planned in such a way as not to conflict with the Beltline."
The TPA Group data center is a $14 billion investment known as "Project Marvel."
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