At four in the morning the Great River Road is a black ribbon under limestone, ice fog drifting off the water and nothing moving on it but a plow. Barnhart Construction LLC runs snow work on that early shift, while Alton is still asleep and the lots and drives have to be open before the first shift clocks in. Heavy weather comes in from the west across Missouri and drops fast into the valley, so the night is spent watching the sky and the pavement temperature at once. Blades down, salt spread, a clean lane where there had been six inches — that is the whole job, and it is enough. Snow removal for Alton and the river towns around it.