strength of a suspension bridge

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The strength of a suspension bridge rests in part on how deep the towers are anchored into the ground. During the first wave of suspension bridge construction, consistent with best-practices at the time, regulations required engineers to drill holes for the towers such that the portion of the tower below ground accounted for at least half of the height of the tower. After conducting an inspection into the depth of the holes drilled for the towers of the Watergate Bridge, constructed over 50 years ago during the first wave of suspension bridge construction, regulators noted that updated architectural norms and theory advised that the bridge's towers should be reinforced to meet anticipated increases in usage.

I have troubles in understanding this text ....Could you please help me to understand the entire thing in a better way ...

'rests in part'[/] ---> does it mean 'partially' ? or something else is meant ?

'during the first wave of suspension bridge construction' ? wave ? what is found in sea .....what does wave of suspension means here

bridge's towers should be reinforced to meet anticipated increases in usage. ...reinforced ? are they saying to increase height ? reinforced in what sense ?

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@tintin,

Quote:

'rests in part'[/] ---> does it mean 'partially' ? or something else is meant ?

It means partially, yes.

Quote:

'during the first wave of suspension bridge construction' ? wave ? what is found in sea .....what does wave of suspension means here

'wave' can mean 'round or group.

1st wave = first group
2nd wave = 2nd group and so on.

It is because waves in the ocean are periodic, and they keep coming...

Quote:

bridge's towers should be reinforced to meet anticipated increases in usage. ...reinforced ? are they saying to increase height ? reinforced in what sense ?

Reinforced = made stronger. Probably not height, but mass.

Cycloptichorn

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ok...that looks better now . But have a little doubt here..

'during the first wave of suspension bridge construction'

'wave' is not clear yet . I guess 'wave' is a kind of phase ....a bridge is constructed in several phases .....so 1st wave means 1st phase..say in 1st phase they build the holes .....in second wave i.e in 2nd phase they anchored ....likewise a complete bridge is constructed in several waves or phases .

Is this correct ? Or there was something else meant?

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@tintin,

No, they mean the first suspension bridges built.

They figured out the technology, and built a number of suspension bridges. Those suspension bridges are the first wave.

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strength of a suspension bridge

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