Pasquotank commissioners agreed Monday to seek state transportation officials' approval for naming a county bridge in honor of a former state trooper and county magistrate.

Commissioners said they want to honor the late R.P. Cooke by naming the Little River bridge in his honor. The bridge, which crosses the Little River, is located on U.S. Highway 17 at the border of Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.

Cooke, 82, died last Sept. 3 after several years of declining health, commissioners said.

The longtime public servant spent 28 years with the N.C. Highway Patrol before retiring in 1979. He would go on to work another 11 years, from 1980 to 1991, as a Pasquotank County magistrate.

The Pasquotank commissioners' resolution asks the N.C. Department of Transportation to mount markers on each side of the bridge proclaiming it the Trooper R.P. Cooke Memorial Bridge.

Commissioner Jimmie Harris suggested the honor, saying a member of Cooke's family had requested it.

Commissioner Marshall Stevenson backed the idea, saying that many bridges in the state are designated as memorials to troopers.

Stevenson said Cooke was well-respected as both a trooper and magistrate.

"He was well-liked," he said.

Cooke served with the Highway Patrol from 1951 to 1979. His primary station was in Pasquotank County, but he also served in Moyock, Roanoke Rapids and on the Outer Banks.

Chad Edge, a District 1 manager with the Department of Transportation, could not be reached on Tuesday to say how soon the DOT would consider the Pasquotank commission's request.