Engineer performing surgical overhaul of Wilson auxiliary lock recounts career path

Mechanical Engineer Paul McDonald poses Feb. 24, 2026, at the Wilson Auxiliary Lock on the Tennessee River in Florence, Alabama, where he is working with a team to replace the critical hydraulic cylinders and the complex web of piping, pins, and A-frame assemblies that power the lock's massive filling and emptying valves to keep the navigation lock ship shape. (USACE Photo by Cayce Grall)