Although the M2 motorway opened on 29th May 1963 (actually the motorway only partially opened, junctions 5 (Sittingbourne) to 7 (Faversham) weren't completed at the time and opened a few months later) the link from the M2 to Gillingham wasn't started until later. When the motorway opened there were junctions at Bluebell Hill with the A229 for Chatham and Stockbury/Detling Hill with the A249 for Sittingbourne/Maidstone but no direct route off the motorway for Gillingham and Rainham. The slip roads for junction 4 were built at the same time as the rest of the M2 motorway but just didn't go anywhere at the point the M2 opened.
With the expansion of Rainham at the time this must have been a huge inconvenience to locals that they still had to use the congested A2. As Top Rank Farthing Corner services (Top Rank M2 Services Farthing Corner 1970 ) had opened at the same time as the M2 motorway I suspect that the cut through at the back of the services was heavily used in those early days despite the exit roads being very narrow.
Although planning permission was granted previously for the Gillingham Link road the work to build the A278 Hoath Way didn't start until summer 1964 with an estimated duration of 2 years. The cost was £884,000 and was to join the M2 near Bredhurst with the A2 between Rainham and Gillingham with what later became known as the Bowaters Roundabout due to the packaging site nearby.
The work progressed and was completed ahead of the original schedule with the new A278 Gillingham Link road opening on 19th March 1966. The road was known as Hoath Way in recognition of the old road it partly replaced that was Hoath Lane. Part of Hoath Lane remains and goes through East Hoath woods but the original road followed a different course. The East Hoath woods were acquired by Medway Council in the late 1990s to protect from further development. COUNCIL ACQUIRES EAST HOATH WOOD