This mod adds a set of elevated stairs and walkways to the underside of the large rock arch that the city of Solitude rests upon.  It connects the western side of the arch where the docks and lower secondary city entrance is found with the main city via an entrance near the Blue Palace, as well as continuing along the arch across the Karth River to the eastern side of the river where Hjaalmarch begins.  The Skyway itself has a relatively strong guard presence with multiple patrols as well as a central guard supply and viewing location because of this alternate entry point for the city of Solitude, so beware if you are of the evil or criminal persuasion.  There is also an additional guard post area at the end of the Skyway on the Hjaalmarch side as that is a much more wild and untamed area of the land with hostile critters and NPCs that must be guarded against.

The idea for this mod came from a discussion in the comments of another mod of mine for the original version of Skyrim - Windhelm Docks Pathways  In those comments, several players remarked that a similar type of mod for the Solitude area would solve an issue with it being difficult/impossible for players that don't use fast travel to get across the river without swimming in the frigid waters as well as being able to much more easily access the player home Windstad Manor from the Hearthfires DLC that is located across the northern marches from the eastern end of the Solitude arch.  I thought about the best way to accomplish these goals and this mod is what I eventually came up with.


Features

•   fully navmeshed for companions and standard or mod-added NPCs (see below for more details)
  

•   quick access to and from Solitude and the northern coast of Hjaalmarch where the player home Windstad Manor from the Hearthfires DLC is located
  

•   secondary entrance to Solitude that places you right outside the Blue Palace
  

•   horse usage is possible if you're careful, it's a narrow fit in places but it is possible to navigate the Skyway successfully on horseback
  

•   strong Haafingar (Solitude) guard presence as befitting the capital of Skyrim
  

•   a public viewing platform high in the sky for your sightseeing and dining pleasure
  

•   spectacular views of the northern coastline, the marsh lands of Hjaalmarch, and the Solitude docks from this elevated vantage
  

•   ability to cliff dive off the Skyway in various places into the Karth River far below if you're feeling really frisky
  

The Skyway is considered a "main road" by NPCs so they can and will use it on a random basis as an alternate route if they have a travel package active and it targets a nearby destination that the Skyway offers a shorter path to.  This goes for both standard game NPCs that live in Solitude and have business on the docks (or coming home from the docks back inside the city) as well as wandering or traveling NPCs added by other mods that start on one side of the water and are supposed to go to the other or that start on one side and are trying to get inside of the city.  Be aware of this when using this mod as NPCs might not be found where you'd typically find them as they're taking this alternate route.  This is not a bug or a glitch but fully intended behavior as it gives the Skyway some random foot traffic and NPC activity at all hours of the day.


Compatibility and Load Order

Load order should only matter if you use other mods that edit the underside of the Solitude arch and a small portion of the northern side of the East Empire Company warehouse arch bridge that holds the road heading north from the docks underneath Solitude.  Any such mods have a high chance to have static placement issues or conflicting navmesh problems or both.  Mods such as city overhauls that edit the interior of the city of Solitude will probably work as long as they don't alter to any great degree the inner courtyard of the Blue Palace itself where the new entrance/exit from the city has been placed.


Known Mod Conflicts and Patches

Below are mods that are know to work with this mod either on their own or with the aid of a patch.  If you are aware of a mod not listed for the Special Edition that has a conflict with this one, post in the comments section and I will take a look at the issue and update this section as needed.  Similarly, if you know of a mod that is compatible that deals with the same or nearby areas of the game world, post that as well so I can pass along the information to other users.

Compatible

Enhanced Landscapes - a compatibility patch that removes several rocks and mountain pieces blocking parts of the Skyway is available

Enhanced Solitude Docks - a patch is available that solves conflicts between the mods, doing this necessitated a redesign of the lower part of the original Skyway entrance to the Solitude Docks area as ESD makes numerous changes to that area of the game

Legacy of the Dragonborn - the Skyway was previously compatible with LotD but the release of version 5 of that mod broke this compatibility as it was a large redesign and departure from previous versions.  The Skyway has been adapted and redesigned itself in order to conform to the changes LotD has made to the main arch of Solitude with altered paths and views in a new patch file that is now available.  Do not use any other patch files with this one as the Skyway with this patch active is a much different mod than it is in the base form and will be unlikely to work with other patch files.

Open Cities Skyrim - a compatibility patch allowing both mods to work together is available

Realistic Solitude Arch - a patch to remove rocks blocking the walkway and access to the Blue Palace courtyard inside of Solitude is available

Solitude Docks - a compatibility patch that moves several buildings, adjusts the landscape, fixes navmesh conflicts, moves NPC markers, and other misc changes to solve issues when using both mods is available

The Great City of Solitude - there is a compatibility patch available in the files section of the original Skyrim version of that mod, it was never converted or posted for the SSE version but it is available if you're willing to convert it yourself

The Ruins - a patch that moves a statue added by that mod that blocked the Skyway is available

** NOTE **  -  If using both Open Cities Skyrim and Solitude Docks alongside this mod there is a combined patch available for such a load order.  You do not need the individual patches if running both mods, the combined patch is all you need.

Need another patch for the Skyway that isn't listed?  Modular PatchXPress may have what you're looking for.


Video

Featured in Top 6 AMAZING Skyrim Mods You've Never Seen Before! | Hidden Gems Week 6



Thanks to SandGentleman for the video highlight.


Original Skyrim version can be found >> HERE <<