By the time hurricane season arrives next summer, several South Florida beaches will be bigger, providing better protection to coastal property and offering more room for sunbathers to lay their blankets.

A vast amount of sand is already starting to be spread on shorelines from Jupiter to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, with about 200 dump trucks showing up Tuesday in northern Pompano Beach.

"Palm Beach County depends on our beaches for our name, for our economy, for tourists and recreation, to protect the six billion dollars worth of real estate along the coast," said Leanne Welch, supervisor of the county's shoreline programs. "We have found that every dollar we spend returns anywhere from $8 to $9 to the local economy."

The beach restoration project in northern Broward will bolster a five-mile stretch from just south of Hillsboro Inlet to Commercial Boulevard, an area that lost a considerable amount of sand when Hurricane Sandy brushed past South Florida last year.

The work, expected to be completed in January, will add sand to the dry beach, making the beach taller rather than wider, at least initially. Where now the top of the dry beach is six or seven feet above sea level, the project will raise it to about 10 feet, said Eric Myers, Broward County's beach erosion administrator.

Adding sand gives the beach a better chance of recovering if sand is washed away, since much of that sand could just wash back onto the beach.

"Beaches are naturally dynamic, moving in response to storms and other influences," Myers said. "Beach renourishment is one way to try ensure that these functions continue to be provided."

To avoid disrupting traffic, the trucks will arrive over the course of several hours, assembling at a staging areas off Atlantic Boulevard and continuing on to the beach when called.

The Army Corps of Engineers is paying the entire $7.1 million cost.

Next week in southern Boca Raton, a dredge will scoop up offshore sand and pump it onto the beach. Within the next few weeks, a project will begin to pump sand from the ocean floor onto beaches in Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach, northern Boca Raton and Jupiter.

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Beaches beginning to bulk up | Video