Extensive storm damage may result in a Moodie Station 'redesign'

The Moodie Station experienced significant flood damage in the July 1, 2026 storm. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Moodie Station on the city’s beleaguered LRT west extension may need a complete redesign, transit riders were told this week.

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OC Transpo held a town hall meeting in Kanata on Tuesday, Aug. 25, where the transit agency said damage from a July 1 storm was so extensive that it may have to go back to the drawing board when making repairs.

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Responding to questions from the audience, OC Transpo general manager Rick Leary said it’s unlikely the station will be rebuilt as it’s currently designed, based on how it responded to record rainfall on Canada Day.

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On Thursday, Leary explained the city and LRT contractors are still assessing the impacts of the storm, and need more time to determine exactly what work needs to be done.

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“As part of this work, the team is considering options to reinstate the damaged infrastructure, including whether elements of the Moodie Station area may need to be redesigned,” Leary said in a written statement.

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“The assessment is still ongoing, and it is too early to definitively determine whether a redesign will be required or what that redesign could involve.”

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Coun. Glen Gower, chair of the city’s transit committee, was at the town hall meeting and said it was unclear how extensive the potential redesign would be, as it’s still in the early stages.

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The Moodie Station experienced significant flood damage in the July 1, 2026 storm. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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“Rick mentioned they’re still waiting for all the reports and information about what might be done, and he said it looked very likely there would have to be a redesign of the infrastructure around Moodie where the flooding happened,” Gower said Thursday.

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It is not yet clear what a redesign would cost or how long it would take to build.

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The city received twice the record amount of rainfall for July 1 — over 140 mm — doubling the record set in 1959, with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe calling it “one of the worst flooding events in our city in the last 25 years.”

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Leary said the area will require repairs to electrical equipment, sections of track, and ballast, all of which were significantly damaged by floodwater.

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As the city scrambles to stay on course for a project that’s already faced years of delays, it’s still uncertain how any repairs to Moodie Station will impact the LRT west extension’s projected summer 2027 opening.

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Gower suggested, however, the overall timeline for reopening will likely be pushed back.

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“It all depends on how construction goes, how testing goes, but it’s pretty clear it’s going to be later. Whether that means it’s into 2028, who knows. We don’t know that,” he said.

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Despite the damage, officials are considering the possibility of opening some of the other stations on time, even if Moodie takes longer.

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“We’ve always talked about opening them together — the south to Algonquin and the west to Moodie — but in light of what happened, they’re going to look at what’s the possibility or the feasibility of doing a staged opening, if that’s an option, to get trains moving in one direction or another faster,” Gower said.