07-19-2010, 08:36 AM
Charlie's right - model it whichever way you wish, and don't worry about pleasing anybody but yourself. If you build your bridge in the same manner as the prototype, you could place a photo of the real one on the layout facia, just to silence the critics, but I wouldn't worry about it. That said, if I were modelling that scene, I'd probably build it without the quirky supports - not out of fear of what others might think, but simply because, had I been the guy doing the work on the real one, I would have removed the original supports and replaced them with new ones. 
Wayne
Wayne