SEARSPORT – It’s been a long time coming.

A new pier at Mack Point – the heart of Searsport’s working waterfront – is nearly complete. The cargo facility will help link five Maine counties with international markets, state planners hope.

State officials, including Gov. John Baldacci, and representatives of Sprague, the company that will run the facility, and a host of other businesses, marked the ceremonial opening of the pier Friday at an event that drew about 150 supporters and well-wishers.

The new, steel-reinforced concrete pier replaces a wooden facility built at the turn of the 20th century.

For more than 20 years, Maine officials had hoped to build a dry-cargo port on Sears Island, about a half-mile away. That effort was blocked by environmentally based court challenges, and finally abandoned by the state when costs skyrocketed.

After the ribbon was cut Friday, scores of people walked across the broad, open edifice, which resembles a four-lane causeway without guardrails. The unfinished end offers a view of the dormant Sears Island jetty.

At its widest, the pier measures 100 feet; when completed, it will be 800 feet long.

Brian Nutter, executive director of the Maine Port Authority, said in a statement that analysis shows that because of highway and rail connections, the new pier “will be capable of serving the international transportation needs of Waldo, Somerset, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook counties.”

Forest products and agriculture are expected to be the heaviest users of the pier, although economic planners have long hoped the proximity of a port would allow new businesses to locate in eastern Maine, using materials shipped in, then shipping completed products out to other markets.

Ships that leave Searsport can reach Europe a full day sooner than ships leaving the port of New York, port boosters have said, making Mack Point an attractive alternative.

The rail connection is just a stone’s throw from the new pier. It links Searsport to Montreal and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Port boosters envision containers coming in at Searsport, being placed on railroad cars and carried to Montreal, then placed on ships for markets in the Midwest.

The overall Mack Point redevelopment project is costing more than $26 million.

It involves:

. The new dry-cargo pier.

. Rehabilitating the adjacent petroleum and liquid-cargo pier.

. Building warehouses, a container facility, and open storage pads.

The funding involves $16.2 million from the state, $2.6 million from the Maine Port Authority, $3.8 million in federal funds, and $4 million in private funds. The businesses investing in the project were Sprague, and the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railroad (successor to the Bangor and Aroostook).

The new pier covers the footprint of the old structure, though it extends slightly farther into the bay. The wide, flat concrete deck allows cranes and trucks to handle cargo containers efficiently.

Rails can be installed in the deck if they are needed, Nutter said, just below the surface so as not to interfere with truck traffic. Ships can approach the pier from either side; the water depth is 40 feet on the east side and 32 feet on the west side, he said.

For years, Maine has had a so-called three-port strategy that calls for developing and improving ports in Eastport, Portland and Searsport to help the state capitalize on import and export business.

The completion of the new pier marks a major step toward establishing the three ports, said Transportation Commissioner David Cole.

In his remarks, Baldacci noted that he had been in Millinocket on Thursday, touring the Katahdin Paper mill. That business will rely on the new pier to ship its product to international markets, he said.

“That’s why this is so important to our economic development strategy,” Baldacci said, because three ports could help create balanced growth throughout the state.

Baldacci also credited local port boosters who have worked for the issue for years, including the late Stetson Hills of Searsport, former Searsport Town Manager Don Grant, and retired pilots Capt. Bill Abbott and Capt. Gil Hall.