KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) _ North-central Indiana officials hope to name the U.S. 31 bypass around Kokomo in honor of the city's early automotive pioneers.

The Howard County commissioners have backed a resolution to name the 13-mile route the Haynes-Apperson Expressway.

Commissioner Paul Wyman says the naming of the bypass would help promote Kokomo's automotive heritage and its claim as home to the first successful gasoline-powered automobile. The name would honor Elwood Haynes along with Elmer and Edgar Apperson for their work during the 1890s developing early automobiles.

The Kokomo Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1LC7W4c ) that local state lawmakers will seek approval for the renaming request from the General Assembly next year.

The $155 million US. 31 bypass opened in 2013 as part of a larger project upgrading U.S. 31 between Indianapolis and South Bend.