In almost all the seismic countries, the earthquake resistant design of bridge s11 structure is based on the so-called seismic coefficient method.(1) The values of the seismic coefficients are based on the seismicity of the region and are rarely related to dynamic characteristics of bridge substructures. The actual forces acting on the bridge should depend upon, besides the seismicity of the region, the ground conditions, mass distribution, stiffness and damping characteristics of the various structural elements forming the bridge, and should vary along the height of the structure depending upon the mode shapes. An attempt has been made in this paper to study the dynamic characteristics and behaviour of masonry piers, which are commonly used in India, under free and forced vibrations with the help of a geometrically similar model of a recently constructed reinforced concrete balanced cantilever bridge supported on masonry piers and founded on rock.