| State: | DE |
| Type: | DE |
| Route: | 286 |
| Alternate Name: | Bethel Church Road |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | DE 286 in red |
| Length Mi: | 1.73 |
| Length Round: | 2 |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Maint: | DelDOT |
| Established: | 1994 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus A: | near Chesapeake City, MD |
| Terminus B: | near Summit Bridge |
| Counties: | New Castle |
| Previous Type: | DE |
| Previous Route: | 279 |
| Next Type: | I |
| Next Route: | 295 |
Delaware Route 286 (DE 286), also known as Bethel Church Road, is a 1.73miles two-lane undivided state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland border, where the road becomes Maryland Route 286 (MD 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.
DE 286 begins at the Maryland border, where the road continues west into that state as MD 286 toward 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.[1]
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.[2]