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Traffic lights at Shaftesbury Square in Belfast city centre were out of operation for hours throughout the Monday morning peak period.

Engineers have since worked to fix the fault.

The Department for Infrastructure had warned the fault was likely to be an issue.

Traffic problems in Belfast have been heavy in recent weeks, with drivers and bus users experiencing long delays on roads close to Shaftesbury Square.

Two major road infrastructure projects have been exacerbating traffic problems - the resurfacing of the Sydenham bypass and the redevelopment of the area around Grand Central Station.

The city's new public transport hub opened last month at a cost of £340m but work to upgrade the surrounding streets is still ongoing.

Nearby Durham Street has been shut while work takes place to dismantle the Boyne Bridge.

That closure is ongoing and is expected to last for a year.

Since the end of September temporary overnight and full weekend closures have been in place on the Sydenham bypass as part of a £3.8m resurfacing scheme.

Last month, the infrastructure minister acknowledged there had been traffic issues resulting from both projects but he urged car drivers to switch to public transport.

But on two consecutive evenings earlier this month, Translink warned of delays in excess of 35 minutes on some Belfast bus services due to heavy traffic.