Windy Gulch & Warden’s House

CPI Objectives: Military-to-civilian career training, national park stewardship

Team: Active duty military service members and CPI’s professional staff

Owner: National Park Service

Location: Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California

Completed: 2025

Outcomes: Accomplished GGNRA’s General Management Plan goal of safely opening a significant area of Alcatraz to visitors for the first time.

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The Windy Gulch portion of the project included working at a dangerous cliff edge to repair a lengthy set of concrete stairs and railings, and transporting all materials, equipment, generators, and precast concrete panels – precast off-Island and weighing nearly 300 pounds - to the remote Windy Gulch area while ensuring no disturbance to nearby nesting birds. Stabilization Warden’s House was necessary to ensure the safety of visitors on the parade ground below (made accessible by CPI via Windy Gulch), should structural failure occur.

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CPI engaged a structural engineer for analysis and design, secured the southern parapet with an engineered tether system tied to installed brackets on the existing interior brace framing, and shored two corner openings and along the large eastern entry opening. 130’ below on the parade ground, CPI installed 140 linear feet of concrete K-rails topped with cyclone fence panels to provide protection against rockfall – challenging logistics included transporting the K-rail across the San Francisco bay by barge and navigating the lengthy concrete sections through the narrow historic Sally Port structure at the base of the Island. To further ensure visitor safety, existing posts were strengthened, and cable anchors and steel mesh rockfall drapes were secured on the cliff face to prevent rocks from overtopping the fence.

Project & Technical Capabilities

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- Expert CPI staff engage hands-on and manage projects with teams of highly qualified and vetted members of our active duty armed forces preparing for transition to civilian careers.

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- Projects across the construction and infrastructure spectrum including strengthening & stabilization, repair & preservation, safety & access, and new construction. CPI addresses America’s national park deferred maintenance backlog, completing projects that would otherwise likely remain undone due to limited park resources.

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- Self-perform concrete, wood, steel, & composite construction as design-build projects coordinated with owners. Larger projects include self-performed work in addition to managing design, specialty consultants, and sub-contractors if needed.

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- Leader in advancing innovative technological solutions to construction and infrastructure challenges that respect historic and cultural significance, promote durability, increase accessibility and safety, reduce cost, and meet relevant regulations.

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