Westport Bridge

On July 20, 1880, the Decatur County Commissioners awarded A.M. Kennedy & Sons of Rush County a contract, at $16 per linear foot, to build a covered bridge over Sand Creek just east of Westport in Sand Creek Township. The resulting single-span Burr Arch structure rests on limestone abutments and is finished with a gable roof and shiplap siding; its clear span across the creek measures about 115 feet, though the total structure, including 7.5-foot weather-protection extensions at each portal, runs roughly 130 feet, 16 feet wide, and 13 feet high. The bridge is one of many built across east-central Indiana by the prolific Kennedy family firm. It carried vehicle traffic for nearly a century before being restricted to pedestrians in 1973 due to deterioration, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1982. A major restoration completed in 2004 reinforced the timber framework and allowed vehicular traffic to resume, though crossings today are limited to vehicles and passengers weighing no more than four tons combined. The bridge remains open to travel at any time and is a well-known symbol of Westport, featured in regional tourism promotion as Decatur County's only surviving covered bridge.