The Great Bridge

The Great Bridge links the south center bank of the Wedge in Magnar's Landing to the north side of Kings—at least, when the bridge is connected.

History
During the past century, as Magnar’s Landing grew, people began using the Wedge to land boats. Eventually people created makeshift piers for ships rather than pay fees at the Lower Docks or scramble for space at the Southbank Wharf. They’d then ferry back to the south bank, the center of commerce, or travel a circuitous route north over the Kaihua bridge, then back east and south over the Mor Bridge (which was later dismantled). The merchants of the city thought that if they could make it easier for people to move between the Wedge and the main districts of Magnar’s Landing, their capacity for trade would increase.

They couldn’t figure out how to do it with a bridge. At the point they had decided would be best, the Mor River was nearly half a mile wide and over one hundred feet deep (and remains so to this day). Most city planners would not consider this a good place for a bridge. In need of an innovative solution, the merchants again commissioned the Schola Arcanum as they had done to create the Docks.

The Arcanum engineers built a floating bridge.

Construction
Despite what the common folk might believe, the bridge is mundane in its construction, though magic is occasionally used to repair it and was used in its initial manufacture. It is built in sections, each linked together like coal carts in a mine. Each section is made of local wood, lightweight but strong, layered in planks around an air-filled cavity similar to the hold of a ship.

Six immense chains run the length of the bridge, three affixed to each side, though they’re mostly submerged. These are anchored to the banks on either side of the river and drawn taut. The tension on the chains keeps the floating sections of the bridge aligned and prevents them from floating downriver. These sections can be unlinked and the chains withdrawn so that ships can pass, and surging river water doesn’t wash the bridge away during the region’s rare floods.

The bridge is wide enough for three horse-carts to pass abreast.

Economic Changes
When the Great Bridge first opened to the public seventy years ago, shipping traffic on the Mor River wasn’t nearly as steady as it is now. Because the bridge floats right on the water, no ship can pass when the bridge is linked, no matter how small the vessel. Eventually the traffic became so dense that people started questioning whether the bridge should be removed. The bridge operators would keep it linked for thirty minutes to allow for foot traffic, forcing barges and ships to wait; then they’d unlink the bridge for thirty minutes to let the ships pass, and make the pedestrians and carriages wait.

Since the merchant families commissioned the bridge, they have a great deal of say in its operation. Eventually it the need to allow shipping traffic on the Mor River became more important than helping people cross from the Wedge to the Lower Docks. Even though the bridge is considered one of the most potent achievements of Vesland engineering, only the poorest people in Magnar’s Landing use it anymore.

Current Operations
The operators now work part-time, linking the bridge for only a few hours in the middle of the night. They lower it two hours after sunset, and raise it again two hours before dawn.

When the bridge is unlinked and the waterways open, those with a few coins can take a ferry across the Mor. Ferrymen charge slightly lower rates than they would elsewhere along the river, because they’re not the only option for crossing; technically, travelers could wait for nightfall and take the bridge across for free. Those with means and the odd need to transport something by land can pay a hefty price to have the bridge linked during the day.