98 around downtown Brooksville, but never truly leaves the city limits. Curving to the southeast near the Hernando County Sheriff's Department headquarters, the remainder of the former rural characteristics of Brooksville can still be found, until it approaches US 41 where hidden State Road 700 secretly joins the road. Climbing another hill, the road turns direct east again where it passes in front of a pair of churches before the intersection of County Road 445(Main Street) and Mitchell Road, and then an at-grade crossing with CSX's Brooksville Subdivision. After the intersection with CR 581, the road turns northeast as it approaches the intersection of Jasmine Boulevard, but more importantly US 98 and the eastern terminus of SR 50A, as well as the eastern terminus of US Truck Route 98. From here the speed limit increases to 60 miles per hour. It moves primarily southeast through farmland and wooded swampland. US 98/SR 50 finally turns straight east again when it runs between a pair of lakebeds before the intersection with CRs 484 and 541. At this point, the road moves up and down a series of hills but first passes by communities such as Rolling Acres and Hill 'n Dale, where a residential frontage road can be found on the north side. The hills continue along the road, but along more farms and sparsely populated areas, among them Wildlife Lane. One trailer park can be found just west of Lockhart Road, which is the site of numerous dog shows. Entering the unincorporated community of Ridge Manor West, the road approaches some hotels, gas stations and restaurants serving motorist and tourists on Interstate 75. US 98-SR 50 is the only interchange along I-75 in Hernando County, and until the completion of the reconstruction of the interchange in September 2019, the left-turn lanes leading to the on-ramps were notoriously short. Directly east of I-75 is a development that shares the community's namesake as well as one shopping center. The road takes one last drop, only to rise again and officially enter Ridge Manor at the intersection of Kettering Road and Croom-Rital Road which leads to a trailhead for the Withlacoochee State Trail US 98-SR 50 pass under a bridge for this trail. At the crossing over the Withlacoochee River, two former sections of the road exist on the east side of the river; Paul N. Steckle Lane, and Ridge Manor Boulevard. The shorter