LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — July 23, 2025 — If you live near a construction site in Nevada, don’t be surprised if the sound of hammers and heavy machinery now greets you at dawn. A new statewide law signed last month by the governor allows construction work to begin as early as 5 a.m., a significant shift designed to protect outdoor workers from extreme desert heat.

At a busy construction site near Lake Las Vegas, where an old mine site is being cleared for hundreds of new homes, neighbors have already noticed the difference.

“They are not starting at 7:00, more like 5:00 am,” one nearby resident wrote on social media. Another added, “Dang they are so loud so early! Woke me up before 6:30... Did they follow the noise ordinance of 7am?”

Those noise ordinances have now changed under Assembly Bill 478, which passed both the Nevada Assembly and Senate unanimously this spring. The measure adjusts legal construction hours during the hottest months of the year — from April 1st to September 30th — to allow work to start two hours earlier than what most local noise rules previously allowed.

For the 5 a.m. start time to be legal, the job site must be at least 300 feet from any occupied home, giving some buffer for residential areas while still letting crews get an earlier jump before desert temperatures soar into triple digits.

After signing the bill into law last month, the governor’s office emphasized that the change addresses rising risks for outdoor workers as summers become hotter and more dangerous. In Clark County alone, 526 people died in 2024 due to heat-related causes — a record that highlights why labor and industry groups pushed for earlier work hours.

At an informational session following the bill’s signing, local construction workers described how the law could help prevent life-threatening heat stress.

“I will go out there working in the heat, come back and I pass out. I pass out for three or four hours,” one worker shared, asking not to be named.

Alongside the new work hours, Nevada OSHA has rolled out additional protections for construction crews during heat waves, starting in April this year. These include mandatory water breaks, shaded rest areas, and emergency response training for heat illness.

Supporters say the new start times — combined with stricter heat rules — aim to strike a balance between neighborhood peace and worker safety, especially as Nevada’s housing boom drives more large-scale developments into suburban and semi-rural areas like the Lake Las Vegas corridor.

While some neighbors have voiced frustration about losing early-morning quiet, state officials stress that the bigger goal is keeping laborers safe and healthy on the job.

As the Southwest braces for another scorching summer, residents across Nevada may need to get used to earlier-than-usual alarms — a small price, advocates say, for protecting the people who build the state’s homes, roads, and skyline.

Originally reported by Kim Passoth in KOLO 8 News.