My solution is exactly the same except I build left to right, creating an extra fall off the end of the bridge. I'd actually tried this yesterday but I'd only tried building from the very edge, which lifts the miner enough that he doesn't turn round. Of course, with less tiredness it's obvious that the bridge doesn't need its top step under the drop to prevent splatting.
If that's intended, then I think the solution process, from my dead end to realising how to adjust it, is fair enough for the player to work out and doesn't need changing. It would be nice if we can prevent the backroute though

As for difficulty, I'm fine leaving the level where it is, considering it was one of my last four Vicious levels left to solve. Possibly, we could downrank it and uprank Ring of Fnargl, as has been suggested; I'll have another look at that level to see how I feel about it now. It's definitely not a candidate for
late Vicious, so this would involve shuffling several levels around.