Gov. Paul LePage announced Monday that a Maine transportation official with a reputation for getting the most mileage out of scarce dollars is his choice to head that department, and a career administrator who’s run public and private prisons in several other states will be his nominee to head Maine’s corrections system.

David Bernhardt, of Vassalboro, an engineer who has 26 years experience in the department that oversees and maintains Maine’s highway, bridge, ferry and other public transportation systems, will be his nominee for commissioner.

LePage said he wanted to hire a commissioner “who can take a nickel and stretch it into a dollar. The name that kept coming up is David Bernhardt.’’

Bernhardt has consolidated transportation maintenance facilities and formed a partnership with New Hampshire to save on purchases such as road culverts, resulting in $10 million in annual savings for Maine, LePage said.

The emphasis on savings comes as the transportation budget falls hundreds of millions of dollars short of what’s needed to keep up with proposed capital improvements for highways and bridges. Asked whether an increase in Maine’s 29.5 cent-per-gallon gas tax plays into a solution to raising more revenue for the department, LePage said, “It doesn’t.’’

That policy was seconded by Bernhardt, who said his “first job is to look for efficiencies and cost-effective solutions without having to raise the gas tax.’’

LePage’s nominee for Corrections commissioner, Joseph Ponte, has held administrative positions in corrections systems in Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Ponte’s resume shows he’s also worked for private firms that run prisons, including Corrections Corporation of America, his employer since 2006.