I thought the same thing. It seems like it would have been a better idea to bring the cables/ropes in through the hole at the bottom of the wall, rather than o

I thought the same thing. It seems like it would have been a better idea to bring the cables/ropes in through the hole at the bottom of the wall, rather than over the top. The lateral compressive load would then have been taken up by the bridge itself, rather than the walls.