haley_barbour.jpgJACKSON, Miss. (AP) _ Several stretches of Mississippi highways have been renamed to honor black leaders and military heroes.

Alcorn State University thanked Republican Gov. Haley Barbour in a recent news release for signing into law a bill honoring long-time educator Walter Washington.

Barbour has signed a series of highway designations into law this month, including one for Martin Luther King Jr.

Also included among the honors was a stretch of highway for Sgt. Todd Partridge, who served and died in Iraq, and one for Chaplain Clark Poling, who served at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg during World War II.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation will erect markers on the highways to notify travelers of the designations.