Third time lucky? Town's 'big yellow box' back again

The yellow box has been scaled back over the last four months

A yellow box junction which was hailed as the biggest in the UK or Ireland has been reduced in size.

The 40m-long yellow box in Maghera, County Londonderry, appeared at the start of the summer but has been gradually scaled back in the past four months.

It is now approximately a quarter of its original size, meaning that Maghera, with its population of fewer than 5,000 people, has lost its claim to fame as the "small town with the big yellow box".

The cost of the changes to the yellow markings is being kept confidential, and what went wrong is not entirely clear.

People living and working nearby have been left confused as all the yellow lines have come and gone during the summer months.

The timeline of changes was as follows:

• June: large yellow box appears

• July: reduced to medium-sized box

• August: removed completely for road resurfacing

• September: small-sized box appears

'It's perfect'

Melissa Caskey said the box was now the right size

Melissa Caskey, who works in an office in Maghera, said the new box was "a good job".

"When I was first interviewed about the box at the start of the summer, I did say it was too big and it needed to be made smaller and they did come back and do it," she added.

She said the box was needed as it was an "extremely busy" junction - but all the changes had been "a waste of time and money".

"Hopefully this is third time lucky."

And her message to the Department for Infrastructure (DfI)? "Just leave it alone now, that's it. Don't do anything else, it's perfect."

The box, pictured in June, previously stretched more than 40m along a busy junction frequently used by buses and lorries

The DfI, which is in charge of roads in Northern Ireland, said the costs could not be released as they were "commercially sensitive".

Explaining the changes which have taken place, a DfI spokesperson said: "A yellow box marking was installed at this location to assist bus movements to and from the main bus stop on St Lurach's Road.

"Following a review of its effectiveness, the yellow box marking has been reduced in size to help improve traffic flow through the junction at Main Street while continuing to assist bus movements from Lurach's Road.

"Contract rates are commercially sensitive therefore costs cannot be released."

Public realm improvements have been taking place in the town for the past year.

As well as installing new street furniture and widening footpaths, the project tried to tackle traffic flow issues.