After the fatal metro rail accident, questions are mounting over how a bearing pad -- which supports viaducts weighing hundreds of tonnes -- could fall off again, just 13 months after a similar incident. Experts explain that bridge or flyover bearing pads are not mechanical bearings as used in vehicles, but thick layers of neoprene or natural rubber designed to absorb vibration between a pier and viaduct joints. Engineer Moniruzzaman, who has long worked on bridge condition surveys, said: “During construction, a concrete seat is built on the pier to hold the rubber pad in place. On Sunday afternoon, a bearing pad fell near Khamarbari, killing 36-year-old Abul Kalam. We must not add another one hanging above their heads.”Hoque said rubber pads are never installed alone: “They’re fixed within a frame to prevent shifting -- this is century-old technology that has evolved greatly.
