Good thought re: being able to sacrifice some of that ground area for splints. There does appear to be more than enough. (Could always jumper the splint w/ a short length of wire, to err on the side of caution.)
I might be reluctant to rely on the wire jumpers to provide rigidity. That transfers any strain to the traces, at the ends of the rigid wires.
I think I'd go as far as to use flexible, stranded wire, and only solder the ends, just to avoid that possibility of tearing up traces if the board sees any flex in the future.
I usually try my best to make repairs look indistinguishable from original, but this is the sort of repair where function should take precedence over form. Far better for it to be solid and remain trouble-free, than to be concerned about it looking "factory."