Delaware Route 286


Delaware Route 286, also known as Bethel Church Road, is a short, two-lane roadway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland border, where it becomes Maryland Route 286, east to DE 15. The route passes through rural areas with some homes. DE 286, along with MD 286 and DE 15, forms a link between Chesapeake City, Maryland and Summit Bridge, Delaware. The road was paved in the 1930s and became DE 286 in the 1990s.

Route description

DE 286 begins at the Maryland border, where the road continues west into that state as MD 286 towards the town of Chesapeake City, and continues east on two-lane, undivided Bethel Church Road through farmland. A short distance later, the road runs between residential developments. The road then passes between homes to the north and rural areas to the south before becoming lined with farms on both sides. DE 286 reaches its eastern terminus at DE 15, which heads south on Choptank Road and northeast on Bethel Church Road, at a roundabout. DE 286 has an annual average daily traffic count of 4,597 vehicles. None of DE 286 is part of the National Highway System.

History

By 1920, what is now DE 286 existed as an unimproved county road. The road in Delaware was paved by 1936 and served as part of the route between Summit Bridge and Chesapeake City. Bethel Church Road from the state line east to DE 15 was designated DE 286 around 1994, extending the number from MD 286. On November 20, 2009, a roundabout opened at the eastern terminus at DE 15.

Major intersections