Boston beefs up security for First Night celebration

Revelers attending Saturday’s First Night celebration in Boston will see more than fireworks and festive attire as they say goodbye to 2016.

They’ll see more barricades, police presence and road closures, city officials announced Thursday.

“We’ll have a lot of undercover officers, we’ll have some bomb assets in the area,” Police Commissioner William B. Evans said. “People shouldn’t be afraid to come out.”

“We have no credible terror threats targeting First Night in the city,” Mayor Marty Walsh added. “However, we always want to make sure people keep an eye on their surroundings. If you see something out of the ordinary, let a police officer know, or a public-safety official. There’ll be plenty of folks out on the streets.”

Police will also use dump trucks to barricade certain areas around the celebration to prevent potential truck attacks like those seen in Germany and France this year.

“It’s sad that we have to do this type of stuff, but it’s a reality of what’s happening now in the world,” Evans said.

Since this year’s First Night fireworks will take place in Copley Square instead of over the Charles River, that area will be closed to traffic on Saturday.For a complete list of road closures, visit Boston.gov.