TheMaraimalai Adigal Bridge (previously theMarmalong Bridge) is a road bridge onAnna Salai connecting the northern and southern banks of theAdyar River.[1]
The oldest bridge across the Adyar River - the Marmalong Bridge - was originally constructed by the Armenian merchantCoja Petrus Uscan in 1728 at the cost of Rs. one lakh. He left a trilingual inscription in Armenian, Latin, and Persian.[2][3] The bridge was named after the nearby village ofMambalam which was Anglicized to Marmalan or Marmalong.[1] The dilapidated old bridge was replaced by a new one in 1966.[4] The new bridge is named afterMaraimalai Adigal, a Tamil writer and proponent of thePure Tamil movement.
Uscan's construction of the bridge is commemorated by a plaque at the northern end of the bridge adjoining the Saidapet bus stand.[1]