Maghera’s ‘big yellow box’ being reduced in size

An extra-large yellow box junction which stunned people in Maghera is being reduced in size.

Work began on Thursday night to remove some of the yellow markings at a junction in the County Londonderry town.

Maghera, with a population of fewer than 5,000 people, was dubbed “the small town with the big yellow box”, after the road paint appeared in June.

It stretched more than 40m along a busy junction frequently used by buses and lorries as well as cars.

After complaints were raised about the yellow box being too big, the Department for Infrastructure confirmed officials would look again at its size.

Work has begun to make it smaller, though it is not yet clear what the final size will be.

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.

The sight of so much yellow box paint at one junction sparked UK-wide media coverage, and locals joked that it might become a tourist attraction.

However, there is no longer as much to see.

It is now the small town with the “not quite so big yellow box”.