Mr. Farrar has over 45 years of experience as a bridge engineer in the highway transportation sector in both public and private sectors. Matt’s public service career includes 36 years of experience in engineering and public administration while employed with the Idaho Department of Transportation (ITD), where he served as the State Bridge Engineer from 1997 to 2022, overseeing transformative projects such as the $80 million Bridge Preservation and Bridge Restoration Programs for Idaho’s Transportation Investment Plan; production of plans, specifications, and estimates for the construction of bridges in the Idaho Transportation Investment Plan; ITD’s Bridge Management System for Idaho’s bridges; and planning and oversight of the personnel, operating, and capital budgets for the Bridge Section. Matt’s strategic foresight and meticulous dedication has been instrumental in shaping Idaho’s bridge infrastructure.
Nationally, Matt has provided active leadership on AASHTO Subcommittee of Bridges & Structures on various technical committees including serving as Chair of the technical committee for bridge management, evaluation, and rehabilitation (T-18), and as a member of the Concrete Bridges (T-10) and Steel Bridges (T-14) committees. Matt provided direct leadership for the development of the new Manual for Bridge Element Inspection adopted by AASHTO and now required by the National Bridge Inspection Standards. Most recently, Matt is assisting the Idaho Transportation Department with transitioning its Bridge Inspection Database to the new Specifications for the National Bridge Inventory format.
Matt’s Credentials and Past National Engagements
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- Professional Engineer: ID
- AASHTO T-18: Bridge Management, Evaluation and Rehabilitation, Member (Chair)
- Long Term Bridge Performance TRB Oversight Committee
- Western Bridge Engineer’s Seminar Board of Directors
- National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Projects
- 12-78 Evaluation of Load Rating by Load and Resistance Factor Rating
- 12-82 Developing Reliability Based Bridge Inspection Practices (Chair)
- 12-84 Guidelines for the Load and Resistance Factor Design and Rating of Gusset-Plate Connections
- 12-104 Evaluation of Element Level Inspection Quality
- 20-07/Task 285 Recalibration of LRFR Permit Live Load Factors (Chair)
- 20-07/Task 378 Assessing Risk for Bridge Management
- 20-07/Task 410 Calibration of Load Factors for the FAST ACT EV-2, EV-3 (Chair)
- 20-68A Domestic Scan 12-01 Advances in State DOT Superload Permit Processes and Practices (Chair)
