Dijkstra vs. A* vs. Contraction Hierarchies

The classic answers to "what is the fastest way from A to B?", Dijkstra and A*, are exact and need no preparation, but the farther apart the two points, the more of the network they read. The animation runs them and a Customizable Contraction Hierarchy on the real road network of Florida, 1.07 million junctions and 2.7 million road segments, from Tallahassee to Coral Gables by travel time: 8 hours 18 minutes, down I-75 and the Florida Turnpike. Each colored square is a part of the state the search has to read before it knows the answer, and all three panels play at the same speed. All three return the same route, to the second.