Picture enough sand to fill 255 Goodyear blimps. That's how much is being spread along the beaches of Broward and Palm Beach counties this winter, as work crews race to bulk up eroded shorelines.

In Palm Beach County, at least five major projects are in the works from Jupiter to Boca Raton. In Broward, a long-awaited project to restore beaches from Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach has been delayed at least until next winter, but a smaller project from just south of Hillsboro Inlet to Commercial Boulevard is adding sand to the dry beach but not providing any additional width.

The multimillion-dollar projects are designed to protect billions in real estate and preserve the region's most important draw for tourists.

BROWARD COUNTY

About 130 dump trucks a day are making the two-hour trip from a mine near Lake Okeechobee to Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. The project has passed the halfway point, with about 3.5 miles of beach restored out of a planned 5.1 miles. So far 83,000 cubic yards have been spread on the beach, out of projected total of 115,000 cubic yards.

But problems have delayed Segment 2, the long-awaited $44 million project to restore about 5 miles of beach in portions of Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea and Fort Lauderdale. Currently some stretches narrow to just a few feet at high tide.

"We have been promised time and time again that this project would be underway and we were going to see some sand on the beaches in November," said Pio Ieraci, president of the Galt Mile Community Association, representing 28 buildings and 16,000 residents. "We are tired, frustrated and despondent beyond belief."

Eric Myers, the county's beach erosion administrator, attributed the latest delay to permitting issues. The Army Corps of Engineers has not acted on Broward's application, and the county objects to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection draft permit that would hold Broward responsible for any harm to coral reefs in the area, even if not directly related to the project.

Planning is being done on Segment 3, a 6.2-mile stretch of Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach. The area received a lavish amount of sand in a restoration project that ended in 2006. But a lot of the sand has washed away, particularly at the southern end. Work to plug the gaps won't take place until 2016 or so, Myers said.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

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Beaches restoration moving along