According to the original suspension design of George Doundoulakis and the granded patent (US3273156):

"To safeguard the antenna against possible damage or
destruction in high winds, the Suspended elements can be
lowered by the cables supporting them into the mouth of
the reflector where they will be partly shielded from winds
and where the stress in the cables is greatly reduced."

I guess they did not implement it because of the cost (?)
I also find it unexplicable that in all these years they have not replaced the cables. You don't have to be an expert to expect that galvanized steel cables will gradually degrade in a humid and salty environment.

Forgeting that it is also one of the very few so powerfull space/atmospheric radars.